parliament

noun par·lia·ment \ ˈpär-lə-mənt also ˈpärl-yə- \

|Updated on: 19 Jun 2018

Examples: parliament in a Sentence

Definition of parliament

1 : a formal conference for the discussion of public affairs; specifically : a council of state in early medieval England

2 a : an assemblage of the nobility, clergy, and commons called together by the British sovereign as the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom

b : a similar assemblage in another nation or state

3 a : the supreme legislative body of a usually major political unit that is a continuing institution comprising a series of individual assemblages

b : the British House of Commons

4 : one of several principal courts of justice existing in France before the Revolution of 1789

See parliament defined for English-language learners

See parliament defined for kids

Examples of parliament in a Sentence

The parliament has authority over the armed forces.
The issue was debated in Parliament.
The law was passed in the present parliament.

Recent Examples of parliament from the Web

While Erdogan aims for a second term, some believe his party may lose its majority in parliament.

— laignee barron, Time, "Four Dead as Violence Mars Election Campaigning in Turkey," 15 June 2018
In a sign of acrimony, legislators from the CDU and the CSU met separately in parliament for the first time.

— bojan pancevski, WSJ, "Demand for Tighter Border Threatens to Undo German Government," 15 June 2018
This would leave the left-wing prime minister dependent on support from political opponents to ratify the deal in parliament.

— NBC News, "Macedonia's president says he won't sign off on deal to rename country," 14 June 2018
But the Netherlands has one of the world’s strongest animal-rights movements (the Party for the Animals has five seats in parliament).

— The Economist, "A Dutch park that mimics nature angers animal-rights activists," 7 June 2018
The candidate with the most votes in one district automatically has a seat in parliament, so 299 lawmakers from the districts are sent to Berlin.

— lindsay ellis, Houston Chronicle, "Recommendation letters written for women undermine their job applications, Rice and UH research find," 7 June 2018
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is out of power, after losing a no-confidence vote in parliament.

— ella nilsen, Vox, "Vox Sentences: The tweet that moved markets," 2 June 2018
His appeal for a government clean of scandal, coupled with a promise to hold new elections soon, brought him just enough votes in parliament to end Rajoy's 6 1/2 years in charge.

— joseph wilson, The Christian Science Monitor, "Spain's new leader Pedro Sanchez promises an end to corruption," 1 June 2018
The new government still needs to win a confidence vote in parliament, but at this stage that was a formality.

— author: jason horowitz, Anchorage Daily News, "Italy’s anti-EU populist parties get green light to govern," 31 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of parliament

Middle English, from Anglo-French parlement, from parler

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

parliament Synonyms

Synonyms

congress;

general assembly, legislative assembly;

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

PARLIAMENT Defined for English Language Learners

parliament

noun

Definition of parliament for English Language Learners

: the group of people who are responsible for making the laws in some kinds of government
Parliament : a particular parliament; especially : the parliament of the United Kingdom that includes the House of Commons and the House of Lords
: the period of time during which a parliament is working

PARLIAMENT Defined for Kids

parliament

noun par·lia·ment \ ˈpär-lə-mənt \

Definition of parliament for Students

: an assembly that is the highest legislative body of a country (as the United Kingdom)

Law Dictionary

parliament

noun par·lia·ment \ ˈpär-lə-mənt, ˈpärl-yə- \

legal Definition of parliament

1 a : an assemblage of the nobility, clergy, and commons called together by the British sovereign as the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom

b : a similar assemblage in another nation or state

2 : the supreme legislative body of a usually major political unit that is a continuing institution comprising a series of individual assemblages