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

Ebbin said that Virginia’s best hope for setting up a legal market for recreational cannabis sales would come from Democrats seizing control of the State House following the election this fall, when all 40 state senate seats and 100 seats in the State House will be decided. —Katie Shepherd, Washington Post, 15 July 2023

But under a constitution drafted by the military following the last coup, the 250-seat senate – which is stacked with allies of the military establishment – is also able to influence who becomes the next prime minister. —Jessie Yeung, CNN, 1 May 2023

Last year, candidates who had previously participated in Vote Run Lead’s program had a win rate of 68 percent, including the first three Black women ever to serve in Minnesota’s state senate. —Time, 23 June 2023

Political class plea for leniency Ekweremadu was a former deputy senate president for 12 years and his case has elicited sympathy with some in Nigeria where many see him and his wife as victims of circumstance who were desperate to help their sick daughter. —Nimi Princewill, CNN, 4 May 2023

On September 16, 1991, Senator Wigberto Tañada gave a soaring speech on the floor of the Philippine senate. —Timothy McLaughlin, The Atlantic, 16 June 2023

While at the university, Kahn was chairman of the EE department and held a seat on the faculty senate. —IEEE Spectrum, 12 June 2020

And, as detailed in a new report submitted to the Australian senate this month, ByteDance has partnerships with several Chinese surveillance firms that have been blacklisted by the U.S. government. —The Editors, National Review, 24 Mar. 2023

In Boone, North Carolina, the faculty senate at Appalachian State University – part of the 17-member UNC system – passed a vote of no-confidence in school chancellor Sheri Everts on Monday, in large part for failing to shut down the campus after a recent COVID-19 outbreak. —Susan Montoya Bryan, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Aug. 2020

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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

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