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United States Senate

United States Senate

85 3.4
A group in the United States Congress with two members from each state who make laws
  • noun
  • /juːˈnaɪtɪd steɪts ˈsɛnɪt/
  • Formal
translation icon : Senado de los Estados Unidos
  • The United States Senate is responsible for reviewing and passing federal legislation.
  • United States Senate committee
  • members of the United States Senate
  • majority in the United States Senate

How is he expected to serve in the United States Senate for six years?

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Examples

  • Each state elects two senators to represent them in the United States Senate.

  • Recent debates in the United States Senate have focused on healthcare reform.

  • How is he expected to serve in the United States Senate for six years?

  • This matter is now the responsibility of the United States Senate.

  • "We are going to continue with this race for the United States Senate."

    Blog text (32)
  • There is no future in the United States Senate for him.

    Blog text (18)
  • MITCHELL: I will do whatever I can in the United States Senate.

  • Each of us firmly believes the United States Senate needs a fresh start.

    Academic text (2003)
  • The Republican candidate for United States Senate will deliver remarks at approximately 7 PM.

    Blog text (17)
  • During my service in the United States Senate, I have often been called a liberal, and it usually was not meant to be a compliment.

Synonyms

U.S. Senate
vsUnited States Senate
70 3.0

Part of the United States government that makes and passes laws, with two senators from each state

is the same body but written as the full country name
US Senate
vsUnited States Senate
16 3.4

The part of the United States Congress that makes and votes on national laws

focuses on equal state representation by giving each state two members
senate
vsUnited States Senate
4 4.2

A smaller upper house in a country's government that makes and votes on laws

refers specifically to the federal body that gives two members to each state
Senate
vsUnited States Senate
  • US
1 3.0

A part of the United States government where elected members make laws, two from each state

specifies equal membership with exactly two representatives per state

Surface Forms

Morphology

united + state + Senate

The phrase names the Senate (the upper legislative chamber) of the United States and its meaning is directly compositional from 'United States' (the country) + 'Senate' (upper legislative body). This is a standard, cross‑linguistic naming pattern for institutional bodies, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily understand the MWE.

Etymology

The United States Senate gets its name from the word senate, which may come from an old word meaning 'old men' because early councils were made of respected older leaders. So today the United States Senate is the country's council where two chosen leaders from each state meet to discuss and approve laws.