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Bicameral house

Definition

A bicameral house refers to a legislature that consists of two separate chambers or houses. Each chamber has its own members and functions within the legislative process.

Analogy

Imagine your school having both a student council and an academic council. Each council has different responsibilities but they work together to make decisions that affect the entire school. Similarly, in a bicameral house, each chamber has unique roles but they collaborate on legislation that impacts the entire country.

Related terms

Unicameral house: Unicameral means having only one chamber or house in the legislature.

Upper house: The upper house is typically one of the chambers in a bicameral legislature with distinct powers and functions compared to the lower house.

Lower House: The lower house is another name for one of the chambers in a bicameral legislature with different characteristics from the upper house.

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AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.