bicameral

adjective

bi·​cam·​er·​al (ˌ)bī-ˈkam-rəl How to pronounce bicameral (audio)
-ˈka-mə-
government : having, consisting of, or based on two legislative chambers (see chamber entry 1 sense 4a)
a bicameral legislature comprised of the House of Representatives and the Senate
bicameralism noun

Examples of bicameral in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web On November 7, a bipartisan, bicameral coalition of US lawmakers introduced a comprehensive privacy bill called the Government Surveillance Reform Act, led in part by veteran Senate Intelligence Committee member Ron Wyden. WIRED, 13 Nov. 2023 Institutions designed to check extremists, whether specified in the text (a bicameral legislature) or not (political parties), were vulnerable to extremists. Corey Robin, The New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2023 House Democrats unveiled the text of the bill, known as a continuing resolution, on Tuesday, amid bicameral, bipartisan efforts to reach consensus on the broader proposal to fund the U.S. government through most of 2023. Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 14 Dec. 2022 This election, in which all 140 seats in the bicameral General Assembly will be contested, may decide whether Virginia remains a haven for families and taxpayers or goes the route of failing states like Illinois. John Tillman, WSJ, 1 Sep. 2023 One measure, introduced in 2018 in Mexico’s bicameral legislature, passed last year in one chamber and is now sitting in the other. Leila Miller, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2023 The reality is that whoever controls the government controls the Knesset, which is a single house, not bicameral. Jo-Ann Mort, The New Republic, 19 July 2023 Senators on first major bipartisan gun legislation passed in nearly 30 years 08:08 In a divided Congress, the two parties and two chambers have demonstrated little inclination toward cutting another bipartisan, bicameral agreement to change federal gun laws in 2023. Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 10 July 2023 Those candidates will be put to a vote, with the whole 750-seat bicameral legislature voting. Heather Chen, CNN, 13 May 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bicameral.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

bi- entry 1 + Late Latin camera chamber — more at chamber

First Known Use

circa 1832, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bicameral was circa 1832

Dictionary Entries Near bicameral

Cite this Entry

“Bicameral.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bicameral. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

bicameral

adjective
bi·​cam·​er·​al (ˈ)bī-ˈkam-(ə-)rəl How to pronounce bicameral (audio)
: consisting of two legislative chambers
a bicameral legislature

Medical Definition

bicameral

adjective
bi·​cam·​er·​al (ˈ)bī-ˈkam-(ə-)rəl How to pronounce bicameral (audio)
: having two chambers

Legal Definition

bicameral

adjective
bi·​cam·​er·​al ˌbī-ˈka-mə-rəl How to pronounce bicameral (audio)
: having, consisting of, or based on two legislative chambers
a bicameral legislature
bicameralism noun
bicamerality
ˌbī-ˌka-mə-ˈra-lə-tē
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on bicameral

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!