Meaning of constitution in English

constitution

/ˌkɒn.stɪˈtʃuː.ʃən/ us

/ˌkɑːn.stəˈtuː.ʃən/

constitution noun [C] (LAWS)

the set of political principles by which a state or organization is governed, especially in relation to the rights of the people it governs:

written constitution Britain has no written constitution.

constitution of the Constitution of the United States

under the constitution Under (= as part of) the union constitution, a new committee is elected each year.

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Clause 4 of the constitution is thought to be the most important section.
Until the constitution is amended, the power to appoint ministers will remain with the president.
When he suspended the constitution and dissolved Congress, he had the imprimatur of the armed forces.
East and West Germany united under article 23 of the Bonn constitution.
The drafting of a new constitution cannot be a monopoly of the white minority regime .

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Official documents

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

UK politics: legislation & law-making

constitution noun [C] (HEALTH)

the general state of someone's health:

strong constitution He has a very strong constitution.

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Health in general

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constitution noun [C] (PARTS)

how something is made up of different parts:

constitution of the constitution of a chemical compound

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Comprising and consisting of

(Definition of constitution from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

constitution | American Dictionary

constitution

noun

/ˌkɑn·stɪˈtu·ʃən/

constitution noun (LAWS)

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[ C ] politics & government

the set of political principles by which a place or organization is governed, or the written document that records it:

The first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States are called the Bill of Rights.

[ C ] US history, politics & government

The Constitution of the United States is a document that establishes the basic rules and laws of the American government.

constitution noun (HEALTH)

[ C usually sing ]

a person’s physical condition, esp. as shown by strength and staying well:

a weak constitution

(Definition of constitution from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

constitution | Business English

constitution

noun [ C ]

/ˌkɒnstɪˈtjuːʃən/ us

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GOVERNMENT

a written set of rules by which a country, state, or organization is governed:

the Constitution of the United States

the constitution requires/prohibits/allows, etc Mexico's constitution guarantees the right of free travel to its citizens.

draw up/adopt/amend the constitution Following these changes, it was proposed that the company's constitution be amended.

under the constitution Under the union constitution, a new committee must be elected every year.

the way that something is formed from different parts:

the constitution of society

Several people objected to the constitution of the committee, arguing that women were under-represented.

(Definition of constitution from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of constitution

constitution

The tendency to see constitutions as predetermined legal moulds can be a source of flawed institutional arrangements and eventual institutional failure.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Lacking in the 1990 document, for example, was the ' reinforcement ' of the presidency so much a feature of earlier francophone constitutions.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

We have long known that many policies have been placed in constitutions because they would be relatively hard to change.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Scholars should make an effort to understand the goals that were embodied in the texts as the constitutions were written.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The text of the constitutions was merely the tip of an iceberg of common law, legislative compromise, judicial decision, and extra-governmental practice.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Most writing on state constitutions is resolutely textual, as befits authors whose central concerns are legal history and the courts.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

None of those constitutions had the sanction of an enabling act.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In the continental civil law tradition, individual cases are related to legal codes or constitutions.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Unfortunately, the political dimension of constitutions has increasingly given way to a reliance on judicial mechanisms.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In turn, these constitutions impact on understandings of what partnership itself might mean and be.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Traditionally, institutionalism used to be in in-depth study of formal structures and constitutions, but the new institutionalist wave is different from the old approach.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In addition to constitutions, the authors compiled information about electoral laws, party rules, and legislative rules that are not easily obtainable.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Local units and their particularistic features must be well protected, to maintain their popularly based constitutions in the face of continued centripetal forces.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Is it possible to enshrine the dignity of man in constitutions that also allow for strong government and stability?

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Voters rejected the proposed constitution's attempts to entrench further the power of the executive, despite repeated demands for the opposite during the consultation process. 16.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

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These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with constitution

constitution

These are words often used in combination with constitution.

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current constitution

The variable has five possible values, with a mean of 0.74 indicating general attachment to the current constitution.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

draft constitution

There were over two hundred objections from townships within the state to the draft constitution.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

genetic constitution

The genotype indicates the plant's genetic constitution and determines its inherent ability to grow and produce latex within the environment provided.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

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What is the pronunciation of constitution?

C1,C2

Translations of constitution

in Chinese (Traditional)

法律, 憲法, 章程…

Meaning of constitution in English

constitution noun [C] (LAWS)

constitution noun [C] (HEALTH)

constitution noun [C] (PARTS)

constitution | American Dictionary

constitution noun (LAWS)

constitution noun (HEALTH)

constitution | Business English

Examples of constitution

Collocations with constitution

constitution

Translations of constitution

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