senate

noun

sen·​ate ˈse-nət 

plural senates

1

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

a

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

—often used in capitalized form as the shortened name of a specific senate

The bill passed in both the House and the Senate.

Senate Republicans

This article contends that most issues related to Senate reform in Canada have been addressed in Australia.

—Howard Cody

b

: the supreme council of the ancient Roman republic and empire

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 faculty senate of Rutgers University began the initiative, passing a resolution April 6 to establish the compact among the Big Ten’s 18 universities. —Lexi Lonas Cochran, The Hill, 18 Apr. 2025

Faculty senates at several other colleges are expected to vote in the coming weeks. —Tracey Tully, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025

In the spring of last year, eighteen professors met to discuss university governance and alighted on the idea of creating a faculty senate—something that Stanford, Chicago, Johns Hopkins, and many other schools already have. —Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2025

That legislation has been passed on the house side of the legislature and is now under consideration by the Maryland state senate. —Edward Conroy, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English senat, from Anglo-French, from Latin senatus, from sen-, senex old, old man — more at senior

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for senate

• bennet
• crenate
• jennet
• rennet
• senat
• tenet

Kids Definition

senate

noun

sen·​ate ˈsen-ət 

: an official law-making group or council: as

a

: the supreme council of the ancient Roman republic and empire

b

: the higher branch of a legislature of a nation, state, or province

Etymology

Middle English senat "lawmaking council of ancient Rome," from early French senat (same meaning), from Latin senatus, literally, "council of elders," from sen-, senex "old" — related to senior

Legal Definition

senate

noun

sen·​ate ˈse-nət 

: the upper chamber in a bicameral legislature

especially, capitalized : the upper house of the U.S. Congress or a state legislature