legislation

noun

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

Liberal Democrats have unveiled doomed legislation aimed at abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, their eyes focused on galvanizing voters for the midterm elections. — CBS News, "Push by liberal Democrats’ to abolish ICE delights GOP," 13 July 2018 Other legislation requires drivers to leave three feet of space between their vehicles and bicyclists when passing. — Emma Austin, The Courier-Journal, "Sex ed, terrorism and revenge porn: New Kentucky laws start Saturday," 13 July 2018 The authors of the 1965 immigration law — the primary cause of America’s demographic transformation — never intended for their legislation to have such an effect. — Eric Leivtz, Daily Intelligencer, "For Democrats, Immigration Is a Political Problem Without a Policy Solution," 2 July 2018 Our bipartisan legislation requires federal agencies to make changes that will bring our government into the 21st century by mandating improvements to the government's digital efforts and setting concrete deadlines for those changes to be made. — John Ratcliffe, WIRED, "Reps. Khanna and Ratcliffe: It’s Time to Modernize Government Websites," 1 July 2018 President Donald Trump, in withdrawing threats to impose new restrictions on Chinese investment, instead put his faith Wednesday in Congress, which is advancing its own legislation to toughen national security reviews of foreign deals. — Kate O’keeffe, WSJ, "Trump Bets on Legislation to Tighten Reviews of Chinese Deals," 27 June 2018 The Senate is set to act on its legislation next week. — Thomas Kaplan, New York Times, "House Rejects Hard-Line Immigration Bill and Delays Vote on Compromise," 21 June 2018 Prime Minister Theresa May faced down yet another rebellion over her key legislation on leaving the EU in parliament on Wednesday, and the battles aren’t over. — Rodney Jefferson, Bloomberg.com, "The City That Defined Brexit Has Given Up," 21 June 2018 Several Republican senators are also planning to introduce their own legislation. — refinery29.com, "Everything You Need To Know About Trump's Family Separation Policy," 20 June 2018

These 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.

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Last Updated

21 Oct 2018

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The first known use of legislation was in 1606

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More Definitions for legislation

legislation

noun

English 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

noun

leg·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

noun

leg·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