legislative branch

noun

plural legislative branches
: the branch of a government that is charged with such powers as making laws, levying and collecting taxes, and making financial appropriations : legislature, legislative compare executive branch, judicial branch

Examples of legislative branch in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The deficit, which will now be added to the growing national debt, was 12 percent higher than the year before, with Republicans--who used to be deficit scolds--controlling the executive and legislative branches. — Arkansas Online, 12 Oct. 2026 Congress is still in the early stages of regulating artificial intelligence, and the legislative branch is due to be away from Washington and out of session starting at the end of this week and until after November’s election. — Garrett Downs,justin Papp, CNBC, 29 Sep. 2026 The legislative branch sets the budget and gives dozens of federal agencies instructions on distributing those funds; the agencies create detailed policies to select grant applicants and get the money out the door. — Lisa Song, ProPublica, 29 Sep. 2026 First created in the aftermath of the Vietnam War as a way to hold a president accountable for military actions, the war powers act has long posed a test of the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches of government. — Lisa Mascaro, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for legislative branch

Word History

First Known Use

1788, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of legislative branch was in 1788

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Cite this Entry

“Legislative branch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legislative%20branch. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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