Meaning & use
sunset provision
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablelegalbusiness
A part of a law or contract that causes the whole law or contract to end automatically on a specific date unless it is renewed.
Grammar: Countable; use 'a' or 'the' and plural 'sunset provisions'.
Patterns
- a sunset provision in something
- include a sunset provision
- without a sunset provision
The new tax law includes a sunset provision that will end it after five years.
Lawmakers debated whether to add a sunset provision to the surveillance program.
Without a sunset provision, the agency would have permanent authority.
Word forms
| plural | sunset provisions |
|---|
Common combinations
- include a sunset provision
- The bill includes a sunset provision to limit its duration.
- a sunset provision in a law
- A sunset provision in the law forced Congress to revisit the issue.
- add a sunset provision
- Senators agreed to add a sunset provision to the legislation.
- without a sunset provision
- The program was extended without a sunset provision, making it permanent.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sunset clause
- Very similar, but 'clause' is more common in British English and often refers to a specific section of a bill rather than the whole law.
- expiration date
- Broader and less technical; it can refer to any ending date, not just a legal provision that ends a law.
Word family
- sunset verb
- To end or phase out something automatically, often used in business or law.
Commonly confused: sunset provision or sunrise provision?
sunset provision vs sunrise provision
Not a standard term, but sometimes used informally to mean a provision that starts on a specific date, the opposite of a sunset provision.
Practice
The new regulation has a ______ that will end it after three years unless Congress renews it.
Choose one answer.
A 'sunset provision' is the standard term for a legal clause that automatically ends a law or program on a set date. 'Sunset clause' is similar but less common in this exact phrasing, and 'sunrise provision' and 'sunshine provision' are not established legal terms.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sunset provision”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.