legislation
- 1A law, or body of laws, that has been formally enacted by a legislature or other governing body.
The legislation introduced last year tightened the rules on data privacy.
Environmental groups campaigned for legislation limiting industrial emissions.
UsageFor one law, say a piece of legislation (not
incorrect: a legislation). Lawmakers pass or introduce legislation, and a leader signs it.Similarlaw, statute, act, regulation
- 2The act of making laws, including their preparation and formal enactment.
Legislation in a democracy involves drafting, debate, and a formal vote.
The committee spent most of the session on legislation rather than oversight.
Similarlawmaking
Note
In this sense the stress falls on the doing: drafting, debate, enactment. It shades easily into the laws themselves, and in a phrase like "pass legislation" the process and its product are hard to pull apart.
Use it in a sentence
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Origin
This word comes from the Late Latin lēgislātiō, meaning 'the giving of the law.' It can be analyzed as the verb 'legislate' plus the suffix '-ion,' though the verb was actually formed from the noun.
Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Legislation comes from Late Latin lēgislātiō. en.wiktionary.org
- Lēgislātiō means 'the giving of the law.' en.wiktionary.org
- Legislate is a back-formation from legislation or legislator. Legislate + -ion describes a morphological analysis, not the historical formation of legislation. en.wiktionary.org