act of parliament

Alternative forms

• Act of Parliament (chiefly formal)

Noun

act of parliament (plural acts of parliament)

1. A law which has received assent (royal, presidential or gubernatorial) after having been passed by the houses (or house) of a parliament.
   • 1839, British Farmer's Magazine, volume 3, page 187:

     No cloggings, lumps of dirt, or underlocks should be suffered to be rolled up with the fleece, as such a practice is unfair to the purchaser, and by act of parliament there is a heavy penalty attached to those who are convicted of doing it.