Definition of CODIFY

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A code is a collection of laws arranged in an orderly way; famous examples include the Code of Hammurabi, from about 1760 B.C. in ancient Babylon, and the Napoleonic Code, produced at Napoleon's orders in 1804. Laws that have been included in a code have been codified. The rules of baseball differed greatly from one place to another until they were codified by Alexander Cartwright in 1845; they haven't changed much since, though we don't know what Cartwright would say about the designated hitter.

Examples of codify in a Sentence

The convention codified the rules of war. The author tries to codify important ideas about language.

Recent Examples on the Web Council voted unanimously in favor of the grace period, which was previously announced, but not codified in county law until Thursday. — Courtney Astolfi, cleveland, "Cuyahoga County formally postpones enforcement of plastic bag ban," 19 Dec. 2019 The decision, codified in French law in September 2018, excludes from punishment any person who helps migrants with a humanitarian goal without compensation. — Washington Post, "French courts face touchy test: Is helping migrants a crime?," 21 Nov. 2019 In that time, the sides have experienced a strange semi-rivalry, briefly codified in Bob Diaco’s infamous Civil ConFLiCT trophy. — Alex Putterman, courant.com, "UConn football to face biggest test yet against No. 22 UCF," 28 Sep. 2019 Corporations could still exercise the free-speech rights codified in Citizens United. — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, "Column: Shell Oil allegedly coerced its workers to attend a Trump rally. Blame the Supreme Court," 19 Aug. 2019 The company imposes a dizzying set of guidelines, codified in a series of papers accessible through the company’s internal computer network, on the daily life of workers. — Christopher Leonard, ProPublica, "Rising Profits, Rising Injuries: The Safety Crisis at Koch Industries’ Georgia-Pacific," 8 Aug. 2019 The company imposes a dizzying set of guidelines, codified in a series of papers accessible through the company’s internal computer network, on the daily life of workers. — Fortune, "Rising Profits, Rising Injuries: Koch Industries Faces a Safety Crisis at Georgia-Pacific," 8 Aug. 2019 The White House takes seriously the principles codified in the Hatch Act and has continued to take affirmative steps to ensure compliance. — The Washington Post, The Mercury News, "Kellyanne Conway should be removed from office, federal watchdog says," 13 June 2019 The trigger for this sudden desire to codify stems from the appearance last December of the member of parliament for the La France Insoumise party, François Ruffin, who dressed in the jersey of the Eaucourt-sur-Somme football club. — Arnaud Montreuil, Quartz at Work, "Is the world ready for politicians to dress in workplace casual?," 20 Nov. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'codify.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.