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Houses of Parliament

Houses of Parliament

2 3.0
A building in London where the two parts of the UK Parliament meet
  • noun
translation icon : Casas del Parlamento
  • "We thought it would be crazier, with people everywhere, clubs packed, and a frenetic sort of vibe like other cities we've been to in Europe," Jenny Logan said as she walked near the Houses of Parliament.
  • Houses of Parliament in London

Got in and immediately started praying Muslim prayers and gloating about being, you know, the first person to bring Muslim prayer to the Houses of Parliament.

Examples

  • It was a beautiful day in London (I understand that is pretty rare), so it was great... went over London Bridge, wandered around the Tower of London, did a river cruise back to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, and toured Westminster Abbey (which I found pretty dreary, actually).

    Blog text (8)
  • Police officers gather around a car adjacent to the Houses of Parliament in London.

  • The group paused opposite the Houses of Parliament.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The flat must be under 335 per week, have central heating, and be within a 20-minute walk of the Houses of Parliament.

    Blog text (31)
  • Admire everything from Nelson's Column and Trafalgar Square in the foreground to the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and the London Eye in the background.

    Blog text (11)
  • I also wonder if the discussion the author, Jan Skoyles, attended a while back at the Houses of Parliament on paper money collapse was hosted by a man called Detlev.

    Blog text (25)
  • The President of the Republic of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, gave an address to members of both Houses of Parliament on Thursday, 1 November in the Queen's Robing Room, as part of his state visit to the UK.

    Blog text (27)
  • We are live this hour outside the Houses of Parliament in London.

  • Protesters opposed to Brexit were outside the Houses of Parliament in December.

Synonyms

Palace of Westminster
vsHouses of Parliament
3.7

A large historic building in London where Parliament meets

is the common informal name for that same building

Surface Forms

Morphology

house + of + parliament

The phrase is fully compositional: 'houses' (chambers or buildings) belonging to 'parliament' directly yields the idea of the parliamentary chambers/building where parliamentary business is done. This straightforward 'X of Y' genitive pattern is common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Houses of Parliament comes from the two main groups called the House of Commons and the House of Lords, who meet to make laws. So the phrase means the building where those two 'houses' meet.