senator

[sen-uh-ter]

noun

1. Often Senator a member of a senate.

2. Senator, (in the United States) a title of respect accorded a person who is or has been a member of the Senate.

senator

/ ˈsɛnətə /

noun

1. (often capital) a member of a Senate or senate

2. any legislator or statesman

Other Word Forms

• senatorship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of senator¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English senatour, from Anglo-French, from Latin senātor, equivalent to sen(ātus) “council of elders” + -ātor noun suffix; senate, -ator

Example Sentences

For Hulse, a Miss South Dakota turned Republican state senator, it seemed not just a pageant victory but a cultural watershed.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The senator’s bill, the Faster Labor Contracts Act, ill-advisedly proposes that a government agency, via compelled arbitration, should impose labor contracts on employers who fail to reach prompt agreements with the union.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Rising tensions between the two parties have been on full display this week, with Johnson and Democratic senators clashing over the shutdown in front of the gathered press.

Read more on Barron's

“As a result,” the New York Times reported after his 97-0 confirmation by the Senate in February 1988, “senators have been free to project their own hopes and views onto a somewhat ambiguous record.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Earlier this month, a bipartisan group of senators announced legislation to make Russia a state sponsor of terrorism over the child abductions.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• lawmaker 
• legislator 
• politician