reapportionment

noun

re·​ap·​por·​tion·​ment ˌrē-ə-ˈpȯr-shən-mənt How to pronounce reapportionment (audio)
plural reapportionments
: an act or result of reapportioning something : the process or result of making a new proportionate division or distribution of something
especially, US law : the reassignment of representatives proportionally among the states in accordance with changes in population distribution
As one might expect, the legislative majority did not care to realign districts to represent the current distribution of the population, because reapportionment would endanger some of their seats. Robert H. Bork
During the Warren Court period the federal courts revolutionized criminal procedure law, created modern antidiscrimination law, recaptured the First Amendment from the shambles of McCarthyism, and restructured American politics through reapportionment. Elizabeth Mensch
Bipartisan gerrymandering following the 2000 reapportionment produced hundreds of safe Democratic seats, hundreds of safe Republican seats, and not much else. Peter Beinart

Examples of reapportionment in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Utah Congressional District 4 Utah’s 4th congressional district first appeared after the 2010 Census reapportionment. Andrew Depietro, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024 This reapportionment process produced results that slightly favor Trump. Alauna Safarpour, The Conversation, 18 Sep. 2024 The effort began under Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-San Pedro), whose district previously included Compton until reapportionment took effect in 2023. Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2024 Thanks to a reapportionment ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court, the 1967 Legislature was the first to represent more actual people than pine trees. Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 27 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for reapportionment 

Word History

First Known Use

1788, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of reapportionment was in 1788

Dictionary Entries Near reapportionment

Cite this Entry

“Reapportionment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reapportionment. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.

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