parliamentarian
noun
par·lia·men·tar·i·an
ˌpär-lə-ˌmen-ˈter-ē-ən 
-mən-
also ˌpärl-yə-
1
often Parliamentarian
: an adherent of the parliament in opposition to the king during the English Civil War
2
: an expert in the rules and usages of a deliberative assembly (such as a parliament)
3
: a member of a parliament
Examples of parliamentarian in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In 2018 the company sued Irene Hochstetter-Lackner, then the Austrian parliamentarian for Klagenfurt, a town on the Wörthersee.
—
Simon Akam, Vanity Fair, 2 Apr. 2026
Last year, Republicans also had to deal with days of trading paper with the parliamentarian, a nonpartisan referee of Senate rules who gets to decide whether language complies with budget reconciliation.
—David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 28 Mar. 2026
That became a coalition to elect parliamentarians in 2023, and that succeeded in changing the government.
—John Shattuck, The Conversation, 27 Mar. 2026
The Senate's parliamentarian would have to rule on that to allow reconciliation to proceed.
—Chris Brennan, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for parliamentarian
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Simon Akam, Vanity Fair, 2 Apr. 2026
Last year, Republicans also had to deal with days of trading paper with the parliamentarian, a nonpartisan referee of Senate rules who gets to decide whether language complies with budget reconciliation.
—David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 28 Mar. 2026
That became a coalition to elect parliamentarians in 2023, and that succeeded in changing the government.
—John Shattuck, The Conversation, 27 Mar. 2026
The Senate's parliamentarian would have to rule on that to allow reconciliation to proceed.
—Chris Brennan, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for parliamentarian
Cite this Entry
“Parliamentarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parliamentarian. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
parliamentarian
noun
par·lia·men·tar·i·an
ˌpär-lə-ˌmen-ˈter-ē-ən
-mən-
also ˌpärl-yə-
: an expert in parliamentary procedure
Legal Definition
parliamentarian
noun
par·lia·men·tar·i·an
ˌpär-lə-ˌmen-ˈtar-ē-ən, ˌpärl-yə-, -mən-
1
: an expert in the rules and usages of a parliament or other deliberative assembly
specifically, often capitalized
: an officer of a legislative body acting as adviser on matters of procedure
Note: The parliamentarian of the U.S. House of Representatives is appointed by the Speaker of the House. The Secretary of the Senate appoints the Senate's parliamentarian with approval of the majority leader.
2
: a member of a parliament
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