legislator

noun

leg·​is·​la·​tor ˈle-jə-ˌslā-tər  -ˌslā-ˌtȯr 

also ˌle-jə-ˈslā-ˌtȯr

: one that makes laws especially for a political unit

especially : a member of a legislative body

legislatorial

ˌle-jə-slə-ˈtȯr-ē-əl 

adjective

legislatorship

ˈle-jə-ˌslā-tər-ˌship 

noun

Synonyms of legislator

• senator
• lawmaker
• lawgiver

Examples of legislator in a Sentence

Write to your state legislator.

the legislators met in an all-night session to hammer out the details of the bill

Recent Examples on the Web

Voters in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District will head to the ballot box in one week to vote in the race between Democratic state legislator Aftyn Behn and Republican Matt Van Epps in one week with polls showing a closer-than-expected race in the historically conservative district. —Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2025

State legislators stuck a $2-per-pack hike into the two-year budget, House Enrolled Act 1001. —Leslie Bonilla Muñiz, IndyStar, 25 Nov. 2025

In 1993, the beer and liquor industry gave thousands of dollars specifically to the eight subcommittee legislators who killed a push to pass a version of the law without the passenger loophole, reporting from that year shows. —Evan Mealins, Nashville Tennessean, 25 Nov. 2025

By the time the first data center opened in 2011, Neal and his team were already lobbying state legislators for better tax incentive packages that would benefit Amazon. —Sean Patrick Cooper, Rolling Stone, 24 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin legis lator, literally, proposer of a law, from legis (genitive of lex law) + lator proposer, from ferre (past participle latus) to carry, propose — more at tolerate, bear

First Known Use

circa 1513, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for legislator

• activator
• actuator
• agitator
• alligator
• allocator
• alternator
• animator
• annotator
• applicator
• arbitrator
• aspirator
• aviator

Kids Definition

legislator

noun

leg·​is·​la·​tor ˈlej-ə-ˌslā-ˌtȯ(ə)r  -ˌslāt-ər 

: a person who makes laws

especially : a member of a legislature

Legal Definition

legislator

noun

leg·​is·​la·​tor ˈle-jəs-ˌlā-tər, -ˌtȯr 

: a person who makes laws especially for a political unit

especially : a member of a legislative body

legislatorial

ˌle-jəs-lə-ˈtōr-ē-əl 

adjective

legislatorship noun

Etymology

Latin legis lator, literally, proposer of a law, from legis (genitive of lex law) + lator proposer, from ferre (past participle latus) to carry, propose