senate

noun

sen·ate | \ ˈse-nət

Definition of senate

1 : an assembly or council usually possessing high deliberative and legislative functions: such as

a : the supreme council of the ancient Roman republic and empire

b : the second chamber in the bicameral legislature of a major political unit (such as a nation, state, or province)

2 : the hall or chamber in which a senate meets

3 : a governing body of some universities charged with maintaining academic standards and regulations and usually composed of the principal or representative members of the faculty

Examples of senate in a Sentence

the New York State Senate The Senate approved the bill. The Senate voted to repeal the tax cut.

Recent Examples on the Web

The state senate in California on Tuesday reportedly voted in favor of legislation that would up the legal purchasing age for rifles and shotguns, and would set restrictions on long guns. — Elizabeth Zwirz, Fox News, "California Senate OKs bill raising age to buy rifles, shotguns from 18 to 21," 29 May 2018 Wisconsin Republican senate candidate Kevin Nicholson speaks with reporters in Madison on Jan. 30, 2018. — Scott Bauer, chicagotribune.com, "Sen. Duckworth, 12 Dems call for Nicholson to apologize for comments about veterans," 9 May 2018 Republican voters on Tuesday will choose a senate candidate to challenge Democrat Sen. Joe Donnelly in the fall. — Kaitlin Lange, Indianapolis Star, "What you need to know before voting in the Indiana primary election," 6 May 2018 The Electoral College, gerrymandering, and the maldistribution of senate seats allow the GOP to enjoy political power that’s disproportionate to their voting support. — Matthew Yglesias, Vox, "The latest Obamacare ruling is part of a larger conservative attack on democracy," 15 Dec. 2018 Is her eye on the senate seat that might become vacant if Lindsey Graham achieves his dream of replacing beleaguered Jeff Sessions as attorney general? — Lynn Yaeger, Vogue, "The Week in Washington: Jared Kushner Is a Hidden Genius," 14 Oct. 2018 The governor, a Republican, is facing Sen. Bill Nelson, D, this fall at the ballot box in a contest for the senate seat Nelson has held for three terms. — Kate Furby, The Seattle Times, "Red tide algae’s deadly toll on sea life has triggered a state of emergency in Florida," 14 Aug. 2018 Cries of corporate welfare and vulture capitalism became refrains among progressive Democrats, including the state’s newest political star, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as from within the newly Democratic state senate. — Katie Honan, WSJ, "Amazon’s New York Project Foundered on Labor Organizing, Opposition to Subsidies," 16 Feb. 2019 In 2017, a week after announcing his senate candidacy, Morrisey filed a companion suit in multistate antitrust litigation against drug companies including Mylan. — Lev Facher, STAT, "A contentious West Virginia Senate race pits two candidates with close ties to pharma," 9 May 2018

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

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More Definitions for senate

senate

noun

English Language Learners Definition of senate

: the smaller group of the two groups of people who meet to discuss and make the laws of a country, state, etc. especially : the smaller group of the two groups that form the U.S. Congress

: a group of people who govern some colleges and universities

: the group of officials who led the ancient Roman government

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

senate

noun

sen·ate | \ ˈse-nət