Meaning & use
senator
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A member of a senate, especially a national or state law-making body.
Grammar: Capitalize when used as a title before a name: Senator Smith.
Patterns
- a senator from [place]
- Senator [name]
- run for senator
The senator from California spoke about climate change.
Senator Harris introduced a new education bill.
She was elected senator in 2020.
Word forms
| plural | senators |
|---|
Common combinations
- senior senator
- The senior senator has served for three terms.
- junior senator
- The junior senator is new to Washington.
- state senator
- He was a state senator before running for Congress.
- senator from
- Who is the senator from Texas?
Synonyms and how they differ
- lawmaker
- A general term for someone who makes laws; 'senator' is a specific role in a senate.
- legislator
- Similar but broader; a senator is a type of legislator.
Word family
- senate noun
- The body a senator belongs to.
- senatorial adjective
- Relating to a senator.
Commonly confused: senator or representative?
senator vs representative
A member of the lower house (House of Representatives), not the Senate. In the U.S., senators serve six-year terms; representatives serve two.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'senator' correctly?
Choose one answer.
All three are correct: a senator is a member of a senate, can be elected, and votes on bills. Option 3 alone is also correct, but 'All of the above' is the most complete.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “senator”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.