senate
noun
an assembly or council of citizens having the highest deliberative functions in a government, especially a legislative assembly of a state or nation.
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senate
American
[sen-it]
/ ˈsɛn ɪt /
noun
-
senates
plural
-
an assembly or council of citizens having the highest deliberative functions in a government, especially a legislative assembly of a state or nation.
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(initial capital letter) the upper house of the legislature of certain countries, as the United States, France, Italy, Canada, Ireland, Republic of South Africa, Australia, and some Latin American countries.
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the room or building in which such a group meets.
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Roman History. the supreme council of state, the membership and functions of which varied at different periods.
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a governing, advisory, or disciplinary body, as in certain universities.
Senate
1
British
/ ˈsɛnɪt /
noun
-
the upper chamber of the legislatures of the US, Canada, Australia, and many other countries
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the legislative council of ancient Rome. Originally the council of the kings, the Senate became the highest legislative, judicial, and religious authority in republican Rome
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the ruling body of certain free cities in medieval and modern Europe
senate
2
British
/ ˈsɛnɪt /
noun
-
any legislative or governing body considered to resemble a Senate
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the main governing body at some colleges and universities
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of senate
1175–1225; Middle English senat < Latin senātus council of elders, equivalent to sen ( ex ) old + -ātus -ate 3
Explanation
When a government is split into two houses, or assemblies, one of them — the "upper house" — is called a senate. The main job of most senates is to take a second look at legislation after it's been passed by the lower house. The idea of a senate as a legislative assembly goes back to the founding of Rome, around 750 B.C.E., with the word taken from the Latin senatus, meaning "highest council." That word, then, is thought to come from senex, meaning "old man," in this case probably meant as a form of respect for wisdom. The word later grew to include national government, and the United States took the word in 1775 to refer to the upper level of the legislature. Today, you can get elected to a senate even if you're not an old man.
Vocabulary lists containing senate
Ancient Rome - Introductory
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Canada - Middle School and High School
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South Asia - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“I said as a senate candidate that I’d be focused on the down ballot and my plan to do that hasn’t changed.”
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026
The bill now heads to the senate, where it is also expected to secure approval, before being enacted by the president.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
The senate said it will convene a work group to meet over the next year to look at the issue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
Talks between Ottawa and Washington “are pretty firmly stuck,” said Steve Verheul, the former chief Canadian trade negotiator, in testimony last week before the country’s senate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
The leadership of the state senate agreed with the governor.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
Jeffrey Kuntz was nominated as a federal judge by Trump in April and confirmed by a 51-46 majority in the Republican-led Senate last month.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
If the Senate confirms him to the Eighth Circuit, he will fill a seat opened by Judge Bobby Shepherd, who is taking senior status.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
They’re ranking members of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, respectively.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
During a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, said she and Sen. Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican, were calling on Congress to “scrap the cap” on payroll taxes.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
What we got, however, was an elaborate disquisition on the history and architecture of the Capitol and a look at the official china patterns produced for the Senate, followed by a polite and chitchatty lunch.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Since news of the deal broke, he said he has met with the system chancellors, provosts, program directors and faculty senates about the acquisition.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 31, 2023
But the school’s faculty and student senates each passed resolutions calling for a change and the university’s alumni board of directors supported reassessing the team name’s appropriateness.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 10, 2021
State senates range in size from twenty members in Alaska to sixty-seven members in Minnesota.
From Textbooks ● Jul. 28, 2021
The animosity has spread to the 50 statehouses and the 7,382 people who serve in the houses and senates there.
From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2012
Judges and senates have been bought for gold.—Pope.
From Pearls of Thought by Maturin Murray Ballou
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
