mandatory

adjective man·da·to·ry \ ˈman-də-ˌtȯr-ē \

|Updated on: 18 Jun 2018

Examples: mandatory in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of mandatory

1 : required by a law or rule : obligatory

the mandatory retirement age

2 : of, by, relating to, or holding a League of Nations mandate

—

mandatorily

play \-ˌtȯr-ə-lē\ adverb

See mandatory defined for English-language learners

See mandatory defined for kids

Examples of mandatory in a Sentence

Parents object to the mandatory nature of the shots—and the fact that their child's access to education hinges on compliance with the immunization regulations. —Alice Park, Time, 2 June 2008
In a move some are calling a "backdoor draft," the Pentagon has announced it will issue mandatory recalls to more than 5,600 Army troops for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. —Nathaniel Frank, Washington Post, 12 July 2004
At the same time, the 1987 repeal of the Fairness Doctrine, which ended mandatory balanced coverage of politics, gave birth to talk radio, and the television universe splintered between the old networks and the new culture of cable gladiators in which opinion was more entertaining than information and cheaper to produce as well. —Nancy Gibbs, Time, 27 Sept. 2004
the tests are mandatory for all students wishing to graduate

Recent Examples of mandatory from the Web

In Iran, a woman could now end up in jail for breaking the mandatory hijab law.

— mekita rivas, Teen Vogue, "Indian Chess Champion Refuses to Compete in Iran Because She Would Have to Wear a Headscarf," 14 June 2018
The Enquirer The Cincinnati Bengals are conducting their mandatory mini-camp at Paul Brown Stadium from June 12-14, the last team workouts before the club reconvenes for training camp in late July.

— paul dehner jr., Cincinnati.com, "Cincinnati Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert misses start of mini-camp," 12 June 2018
Last year, after sitting out organized-team activities, the star defensive tackle attended the mandatory minicamp but did not participate in drills.

— dan woike & gary klein, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Chargers ready for quiet minicamp; Rams likely missing Aaron Donald," 11 June 2018
Bella Hadid Joins Naomi Campbell in Cannes to Strut for a Good Cause Despite skipping the voluntary off-season training, Brady is expected to be present next week when the Pats start their mandatory minicamp, and will also play this upcoming season.

— jason duaine hahn, PEOPLE.com, "Tom Brady Partied in Monaco, Threw Football from Yacht, While Skipping Patriots Practice," 29 May 2018
Other measures that would retroactively extend the time limit to sue and expand and strengthen Michigan's mandatory reporter law remain alive in the House.

— david eggert and ed white, Fox News, "$500M settlement reached with Michigan State in Nassar case," 17 May 2018
The last piece of the offseason program is mandatory minicamp, which will take place June 12-14.

— cleveland.com, "Pumping the brakes -- at least a little -- and the things we learned at Browns rookie minicamp," 5 May 2018
As Missouri becomes the latest state to consider relaxing mandatory helmet laws for motorcyclists, some critics — or cynics — have suggested that repeal has at least one health benefit: more organ donors.

— fredrick kunkle, Washington Post, "Repealing motorcycle helmet laws does have a health benefit: More organ donors," 3 May 2018
According to Swalwell, his policy is modeled on Australia’s mandatory gun buyback laws, which were instituted under a conservative government after a gunman killed 35 people at a popular tourist site in 1996.

— benjy sarlin /, NBC News, "Dem congressman: Force gun owners to get rid of assault weapons," 3 May 2018

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

Did You Know?

Something mandatory is the result of a mandate or order, which usually comes in the form of a law, rule, or regulation. Today there seem to be a lot of these mandates, so mandatory seat belts, mandatory inspections for industries, and mandatory prison sentences for violent crimes are regularly in the news. But mandatory retirement at age 65, which used to be common, is now illegal in most cases.

Origin and Etymology of mandatory

see ¹mandate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

mandatory Synonyms

mandatory

noun man·da·to·ry \ ˈman-də-ˌtȯr-ē \

Definition of mandatory

plural mandatories

: one given a mandate; especially : a nation holding a mandate from the League of Nations

Recent Examples of mandatory from the Web

Separately, an Iceland law that took effect Jan. 1 makes equal pay for equal work mandatory in the northern European nation, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexuality or nationality.

— kevin mccoy, USA TODAY, "Citi to boost pay for women and minorities, closing gaps in the U.S., UK, and Germany," 15 Jan. 2018
Buying such insurance is quasi-mandatory, since banks won’t issue mortgages unless a property is covered.

— emanuel ubert, Washington Post, "The strange story of how Florida’s lawmakers subsidized hurricane insurance," 13 Sep. 2017
In August, Medicare officials proposed canceling mandatory bundled payments for certain surgeries and scaling back the program for knee and hip replacements.

— chad terhune, Kaiser Health News, "Why One California County Went Surgery Shopping," 1 Sep. 2017
Tests to check that older vehicles in Washington’s most-populous areas comply with emission regulations: Mandatory.

— jessica lee, The Seattle Times, "With newer, cleaner cars on the road, is Washington’s vehicle emission test still necessary?," 31 July 2017
But some mandatories come with parole In some cases, a minimum sentence will still be imposed, but the convict would be newly eligible for parole.

— julia o'donoghue, NOLA.com, "Here's how Louisiana sentencing laws are changing under criminal justice reform," 26 June 2017
Like Obamacare, which essentially makes health care mandatory for everyone, insurance coverage is compulsory in Germany.

— patrick may, The Mercury News, "How countries around the world do single-payer health care," 2 June 2017
But some mandatories come with parole In some cases, a minimum sentence will still be imposed, but the convict would be newly eligible for parole.

— julia o'donoghue, NOLA.com, "Here's how Louisiana sentencing laws are changing under criminal justice reform," 26 June 2017
Against Mandatory Minimums counts 22 states that have cut sentencing guidelines for drug offenders.

— jon schuppe, NBC News, "Republican States Make the Case Against Trump’s Drug Policy," 19 May 2017

Origin and Etymology of mandatory

see ¹mandate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1661

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

MANDATORY Defined for English Language Learners

mandatory

adjective

Definition of mandatory for English Language Learners

: required by a law or rule

MANDATORY Defined for Kids

mandatory

adjective man·da·tory \ ˈman-də-ˌtȯr-ē \

Definition of mandatory for Students

: required by law or by a command

Student attendance is mandatory.

Word Root of mandatory

The Latin word mandāre, meaning “to commit” or “to order,” gives us the root mand. Words from the Latin mandāre have something to do with committing or ordering. When a task is mandatory, someone has ordered that it must be done. To command is to order someone to do something. A mandate is an order from an authority to follow specific instructions.