Word.ws English Dictionary

ordinances

UK/ˈɔːd(ɪ)nənsɪz/US/ˈɔɹd(ɪ)nənsɪz/

ordinances is the plural of ordinance.

Meaning of ordinance

Noun

ordinance (countable and uncountable, plural ordinances)

  1. (US) A local law, passed by e.g. a city.
    • Enactive. Expositive. / Art. 57. XIII 2. The Registrative, or say Recordative: exercised, by the arrangements and operations, by which, in conformity to corresponding ordinances and mandates, the accounts, given at different periods by the exercise of the statistic function, are kept in contiguity...1830, Jeremy Bentham, Constitutional code: for the use all nations and all governments ..., volume 1, page 251
    Synonyms:
    bylaw
  2. (England) Prior to the Third English Civil War, a decree of Parliament.
  3. (Commonwealth, UK, pre-1992 universities) Detailed legislation that translates the broad principles of the university's charter and statutes into practical effect.
  4. (Hong-Kong) A law enacted by the Hong Kong Legislative Council.
  5. (India, Pakistan) A temporary legislation promulgated by the president on the recommendation of the cabinet.
  6. A religious practice or ritual prescribed by a church.

Phrases with ordinances

Questions about ordinances

What is ordinances the plural of?
Ordinances is the plural of ordinance.
How do you pronounce ordinances?
Ordinances is pronounced /ˈɔːd(ɪ)nənsɪz/ (UK).

Words near ordinances in the dictionary

  1. ordinalities
  2. ordinality
  3. ordinally
  4. ordinals
  5. ordinance
  6. ordinances
  7. ordinand
  8. ordinands
  9. ordinant
  10. ordinants
  11. ordinariate

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ordinances (page history and authors); ordinance (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “ordinances.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ordinances. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.