parliament

noun

par·lia·ment | \ ˈpär-lə-mənt

also ˈpärl-yə-

Definition of parliament

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

2a : 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

3a : 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

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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 on the Web

In 2007, he was elected to parliament on the ticket of the nationalist LDPR party, which has strong Kremlin ties. — Greg Norman, Fox News, "Russians accused of crimes abroad finding fame in their homeland," 13 Sep. 2018 On Thursday, the Australian parliament approved a measure that critics say will weaken encryption in favor of law enforcement and the demands of government. — Cyrus Farivar, Ars Technica, "Australia passes new law to thwart strong encryption," 6 Dec. 2018 Amid strikes and confrontations with police, protesters briefly entered parliament on Nov. 16, 2011. — Washington Post, "World Digest: July 8, 2018," 8 July 2018 The use of political alliances to help parties cross Turkey’s notably high 10 percent threshold required to enter parliament means the legislature has a diverse range of views, albeit with weakened powers under the new system. — Amanda Sloat, Time, "Why Turkey's Election Result Matters to America," 25 June 2018 Crucially, Demirtas’s party also polled above the 10 percent threshold that will allow its deputies to enter parliament and possibly deprive Erdogan of a supportive legislature. — Benjamin Harvey, Bloomberg.com, "Turkey’s Election Is Too Close to Call, Bloomberg Poll Shows," 13 June 2018 Australian authorities said the attack targeted computer systems in both houses of parliament early Friday, but was intercepted early and there was no breach of confidential information. — Rob Taylor, WSJ, "Cyberattack Rattles Australian Parliament," 7 Feb. 2019 An opposition member of parliament attempted to get into a studio and read a list of demands. — Libby Nelson, Vox, "Vox Sentences: Soft fascism, firm backlash," 18 Dec. 2018 Four journalists who published allegations from the women and eight others in May 2016 also are defendants in the case filed by Denis Baupin, who resigned his leadership post in parliament’s lower house when the media reports came out. — Sylvie Corbet, The Seattle Times, "6 French women on trial for alleging lawmaker harassed them," 4 Feb. 2019

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.

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10 Apr 2019

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The first known use of parliament was in the 13th century

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More Definitions for parliament

parliament

noun

English Language Learners Definition of parliament

: the group of people who are responsible for making the laws in some kinds of government

: 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

See the full definition for parliament in the English Language Learners Dictionary

parliament

noun

par·lia·ment | \ ˈpär-lə-mənt

Kids Definition of parliament

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

parliament

noun

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

Legal Definition of parliament

1a : 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