United States Congress
24
2.5
- proper noun
- /juːˈnaɪtɪd steɪts ˈkɒŋɡrɛs/
- Formal
:
Congreso de los Estados Unidos
- To address the deterioration of the Everglades, the United States Congress authorized a multibillion-dollar restoration plan.
- the United States Congress passed
- United States Congress enacted
What business did the United States Congress do over the last two years?
- What business did the United States Congress do over the last two years?
- And she's very proud to be the first Assyrian member of the United States Congress, right.
Examples
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Their efforts proved successful when the United States Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act on May 6, 1882.
Academic text (2002) -
The GI Act was unanimously adopted by the United States Congress.
Academic text (2002) -
What business did the United States Congress do over the last two years?
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Somebody in the United States Congress said there ought to be an investigation.
Fiction book (1990) -
At one time, this view was shared by the majority of the United States Congress.
Blog text (31) -
What did I ever think that would happen in the United States Congress?
Blog text (21) -
Everybody in the United States Congress had grown up with it.
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In response to public concern, the United States Congress has tried to regulate sexually explicit material on the Internet several times.
Academic text (2002) -
The battle for repeal was hard-fought in the United States Congress and nearly didn't happen.
Blog text (30) -
The United States Congress meets regularly to discuss and create new laws.
Synonyms
356
5.3
A group of people who make and change the laws of a country or region
28
2.5
The part of the United States government that makes laws, made of the Senate and the House of Representatives
10
3.0
A national body that makes laws, including the Senate and the House of Representatives
5
3.7
The national group of elected people who make and change laws
3
2.7
Group in the United States government that makes national laws and includes the Senate and the House of Representatives
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is directly compositional: 'United States' denotes the nation and 'Congress' denotes a legislature, so together they clearly mean the national legislature of the United States. This naming pattern is literal and common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily derive the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The United States Congress gets its name from the word congress, which once meant a meeting or a coming together of people. Picture representatives from different states sitting together to talk and 'make laws', so the name means the national group that makes the country's laws.