leg·is·la·tion | \ ˌle-jə-ˈslā-shən 
\
\Definition of legislation
1 : the action of legislating specifically : the exercise of the power and function of making rules (such as laws) that have the force of authority by virtue of their promulgation by an official organ of a state or other organization the major function of Congress is legislation— W. S. Sayre
2 : the enactments of a legislator or a legislative body
legislation to help distressed homeowners
3 : a matter of business for or under consideration by a legislative body
She proposed new legislation to protect the environment.
Examples of legislation in a Sentence
They passed new state legislation this week.
Two new pieces of legislation are being considered.
She introduced legislation for protecting the environment.
More legislation is needed on this matter.
Certain animals are protected under state legislation.
One of the important functions of government is legislation.
See More
Recent Examples on the Web The company has notoriously lobbied against legislation that would require Apple to grant customers access to the resources required to perform their own fixes.
—
Julian Chokkattu, Wired, "The iPhone 12 Ships Without a Charger. Will It Curb E-Waste?," 14 Oct. 2020 Those are in line with what the NCAA has asked Congress to include in national legislation.
—
James Crepea | The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, "Oregon’s Rob Mullens, Oregon State’s Scott Barnes, Stanford’s David Shaw among Pac-12 athletics leaders voicing perspectives as Congress, NIL craft NIL legislation," 14 Oct. 2020 Cuyahoga County and other local governments are now blocked from banning plastic bags and other containers for one year under legislation signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Mike DeWine.
—
Cliff Pinckard, cleveland, "Remainder of Ohio’s CARES money could help arts, nonprofits, small businesses and more: The Wake Up for Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020," 14 Oct. 2020 Earlier this year, emergency coronavirus legislation was funded primarily through the issuance of short-term Treasury bills with maturities of one year or less.
—
Sam Goldfarb, WSJ, "Investors Prepare for Higher Treasury Yields as Election Looms," 13 Oct. 2020 It's only factored in existing legislation and announcements.
—
Julia Horowitz, CNN, "IMF cuts its global economic forecasts for 2021 and warns of 'long, uneven' recovery," 13 Oct. 2020 The United States should follow in the footsteps of its neighbor to the north and enact legislation to guarantee equal pay for equal work, writes Katica Roy, founder of the pay equity platform Pipeline, in a Fortune op-ed.
—
Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, "‘Can I call it B.S.?’ Jennifer Siebel Newsom is fed up with skepticism of board quotas," 13 Oct. 2020 Such an approach would have the advantage of clearing judicial obstructions before any impending Democratic legislation.
—
Ryan D. Doerfler, The New Republic, "Making the Supreme Court Safe for Democracy," 13 Oct. 2020 Roosevelt believed that a too-conservative Supreme Court was wrongly derailing New Deal legislation meant to alleviate suffering during the Depression and provide for a fairer, forward-looking America.
—
John M. Crisp Tribune News Service (tns), Star Tribune, "Democrats should not answer the court packing question," 12 Oct. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'legislation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for legislation
legislation
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of legislation
: a law or set of laws made by a government
: the action or process of making laws
See the full definition for legislation in the English Language Learners Dictionary
legislation
nounleg·is·la·tion | \ ˌle-jə-ˈslā-shən \
\Kids Definition of legislation
1 : the action of making laws
2 : the laws that are made
Congress passed new legislation protecting the environment.
legislation
nounleg·is·la·tion | \ ˌle-jəs-ˈlā-shən \
\Legal Definition of legislation
1 : the making or giving of laws specifically : the exercise of the power and function of making rules that have the force of authority by virtue of their promulgation by an official organ of the state
2 : the enactments of a legislator or legislative body
3 : a matter of business for or under consideration by a legislative body
recently proposed legislation
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on legislation
What made you want to look up legislation? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Farm Idioms Quiz
- What does 'poke' refer to in the expression 'pig in a poke'?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
Share legislation
Time Traveler for legislation
The first known use of legislation was in 1606
See more words from the same year