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law
1[ law ]
noun
- the principles and regulations established in a community by some authority and applicable to its people, whether in the form of legislation or of custom and policies recognized and enforced by judicial decision.
- any written or positive rule or collection of rules prescribed under the authority of the state or nation, as by the people in its constitution. Compare bylaw, statutory law.
- the controlling influence of such rules; the condition of society brought about by their observance:
maintaining law and order.
- a system or collection of such rules.
- the department of knowledge concerned with these rules; jurisprudence:
to study law.
- the body of such rules concerned with a particular subject or derived from a particular source:
commercial law.
- an act of the supreme legislative body of a state or nation, as distinguished from the constitution.
- the principles applied in the courts of common law, as distinguished from equity.
- the profession that deals with law and legal procedure:
to practice law.
- legal action; litigation:
to go to law.
- a person, group, or agency acting officially to enforce the law:
The law arrived at the scene soon after the alarm went off.
- any rule or injunction that must be obeyed:
Having a nourishing breakfast was an absolute law in our household.
- a rule or principle of proper conduct sanctioned by conscience, concepts of natural justice, or the will of a deity:
a moral law.
- a rule or manner of behavior that is instinctive or spontaneous:
the law of self-preservation.
- (in philosophy, science, etc.)
- a statement of a relation or sequence of phenomena invariable under the same conditions.
- a mathematical rule.
- a principle based on the predictable consequences of an act, condition, etc.:
the law of supply and demand.
- a rule, principle, or convention regarded as governing the structure or the relationship of an element in the structure of something, as of a language or work of art:
the laws of playwriting;
the laws of grammar.
- a commandment or a revelation from God.
- Sometimes Law. a divinely appointed order or system.
- the Law. Law of Moses.
- the preceptive part of the Bible, especially of the New Testament, in contradistinction to its promises:
the law of Christ.
- British Sports. an allowance of time or distance given a quarry or competitor in a race, as the head start given a fox before the hounds are set after it.
verb (used with object)
- Chiefly Dialect. to sue or prosecute.
- British. (formerly) to expeditate (an animal).
law
2[ law ]
adjective
- an obsolete variant of low 1.
law
3[ law ]
verb (used with or without object)
- an obsolete variant of low 2.
law
4[ law ]
interjection
- (used as an exclamation expressing astonishment.)
Law
5[ law ]
noun
- Andrew Bon·ar [bon, -er], 1858–1923, English statesman, born in Canada: prime minister 1922–23.
- John, 1671–1729, Scottish financier.
- William, 1686–1761, English clergyman and devotional writer.
law
1/ lɔː /
noun
- a hill, esp one rounded in shape
Law
2/ lɔː /
noun
- LawAndrew Bonar18581923MBritishCanadianPOLITICS: statesmanPOLITICS: prime minister Andrew Bonar (ˈbɒnə). 1858–1923, British Conservative statesman, born in Canada; prime minister (1922–23)
- LawDenis1940MScottishSPORT AND GAMES: footballerFILMS AND TV: television commentatorFILMS AND TV: radio commentator Denis. born 1940, Scottish footballer; a striker, he played for Manchester United (1962–73) and Scotland (30 goals in 55 games, 1958–74); European Footballer of the Year (1964)
- LawJohn16711729MScottishBUSINESS: financier John. 1671–1729, Scottish financier. He founded the first bank in France (1716) and the Mississippi Scheme for the development of Louisiana (1717), which collapsed due to excessive speculation
- LawJude1972MBritishFILMS AND TV: actor Jude . born 1972, British film actor, who starred in The Talented Mr Ripley (1999), Cold Mountain (2003), and Sherlock Holmes (2009)
- LawWilliam16861761MBritishRELIGION: clergyman William. 1686–1761, British Anglican divine, best known for A Serious Call to a Holy and Devout Life (1728)
law
4/ lɔː /
noun
- a rule or set of rules, enforceable by the courts, regulating the government of a state, the relationship between the organs of government and the subjects of the state, and the relationship or conduct of subjects towards each other
- a rule or body of rules made by the legislature See statute law
- a rule or body of rules made by a municipal or other authority See bylaw
- the condition and control enforced by such rules
- ( in combination )
lawcourt
- a rule of conduct
a law of etiquette
- one of a set of rules governing a particular field of activity
the laws of tennis
- the lawthe law
- the legal or judicial system
- the profession or practice of law
- the police or a policeman
- a binding force or statement
his word is law
- Also calledlaw of nature a generalization based on a recurring fact or event
- the science or knowledge of law; jurisprudence
- See equitythe principles originating and formerly applied only in courts of common law Compare equity
- a general principle, formula, or rule describing a phenomenon in mathematics, science, philosophy, etc
the laws of thermodynamics
- the Lawthe Law capital Judaism
- short for Law of Moses
- a law unto itselfa law unto itselfa law unto himself a person or thing that is outside established laws
- go to lawgo to law to resort to legal proceedings on some matter
- lay down the lawlay down the law to speak in an authoritative or dogmatic manner
- reading the Lawreading the Lawreading of the Law Judaism that part of the morning service on Sabbaths, festivals, and Mondays and Thursdays during which a passage is read from the Torah scrolls
- take the law into one's own handstake the law into one's own hands to ignore or bypass the law when redressing a grievance
law
/ lô /
- A statement that describes invariable relationships among phenomena under a specified set of conditions. Boyle's law, for instance, describes what will happen to the volume of an ideal gas if its pressure changes and its temperature remains the same. The conditions under which some physical laws hold are idealized (for example, there are no ideal gases in the real world), thus some physical laws apply universally but only approximately.
- See Note at hypothesis
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Other Words From
- law·like adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of law1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of law1
Origin of law2
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Idioms and Phrases
- be a law to / unto oneself, to follow one's own inclinations, rules of behavior, etc.; act independently or unconventionally, especially without regard for established mores.
- lay down the law,
- to state one's views authoritatively.
- to give a command in an imperious manner:
The manager laid down the law to the workers.
- take the law into one's own hands, to administer justice as one sees fit without recourse to the usual law enforcement or legal processes:
The townspeople took the law into their own hands before the sheriff took action.
- at law. at law ( def ).
More idioms and phrases containing law
- above suspicion (the law)
- lay down the law
- letter of the law
- long arm of the law
- Murphy's law
- possession is nine points of the law
- take the law into one's hands
- unwritten law
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Synonym Study
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Example Sentences
In Wisconsin, the Green Party effort to get on the ballot was boosted by help from some Republicans and a prominent law firm that does work for the GOP.
Most recently, he took a big shot at the traditional legal industry with Atrium, a law firm and legal software startup that raised big rounds of funding before shuttering earlier this year.
Fischer stressed that these updates, together with Breonna’s Law, are “substantial” and create a new level of scrutiny for obtaining search warrants.
Last October, President Jair Bolsonaro signed a law compelling federal bodies to share most of the data they hold on Brazilian citizens and consolidate it in a vast, centralized database.
Quinn has worked as an elections official in Virginia with von Spakovsky and has co-taught a law school course with him.
Unless there is a court decision that changes our law, we are OK.
Submission is set in a France seven years from now that is dominated by a Muslim president intent on imposing Islamic law.
A few days later, Bush replied, “We will uphold the law in Florida.”
To those who agreed with him, Bush pledged that the law against same-sex marriage would remain intact.
In Israel, however, a new law took effect January 1st that banned the use of underweight models.
We should have to admit that the new law does little or nothing to relieve such a situation.
He that seeketh the law, shall be filled with it: and he that dealeth deceitfully, shall meet with a stumblingblock therein.
To Harrison and his wife there was no distinction between the executive and judicial branches of the law.
Now this setting up of an orderly law-abiding self seems to me to imply that there are impulses which make for order.
These schools became affiliated Universities, but never equalled the Law University in importance.
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Related Words
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More About Law
What is law?
A law is a rule made by an authority and that must be obeyed.
A law is commonly made by a government, which citizens must follow or face punishment. For example, in most places there are laws about not stealing. If you are caught stealing, you could be fined or put in jail, depending on the law broken and the punishment set up for that law.
Law can be used more broadly to refer to a set of laws, such as all of a nation’s laws. To say murder is against the law is to say that murder is not allowed in the geographic area being referred to, such as a state or country.
Law can also be used to describe the legal field, especially as a career, as in Zola had always dreamed of a career in law, so she studied hard in law school.
In the sciences, a law is an indisputable fact about the way the world and the forces in it work. Such laws explain what happens but do not describe why it happens.
Example: I believe it is against the law to set up security cameras without posting a sign on the door.
Where does law come from?
The first records of the term law come from before the 1000s. It is believed to come from the Old Norse lag, meaning “laying order” or “fixed tune.” A law is established to keep members of a community in order and fixed to a specific way of life that promotes peace or discourages violence.
Although law generally refers to a rule made by a government, it can also be used to refer to any strong rule made by an authority that must be followed. For example, your parents’ house rules might be described as laws if they must be strictly followed. As well, a behavior a person might do instinctively or spontaneously might also be called a law. For example, trying to save your life when you are in danger might be described as the law of self-preservation.
Did you know … ?
What are some other forms related to law?
What are some synonyms for law?
What are some words that share a root or word element with law?
What are some words that often get used in discussing law?
How is law used in real life?
Because laws are important to a well-run society, law is commonly used in everyday speech.
You ever be killin it in an argument and then just sit back and be like…wow…I really should pursue a career in law.
— Zendaya (@Zendaya) January 19, 2018
BREAKING: Gov. Newsom signs law allowing inmate firefighters in California to have records expunged, clearing the way for them to become professional firefighters once they are released from prison.
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) September 11, 2020
Weird law: Flushing the loo after 10pm in an apt building is illegal in Switzerland. The Government consider it noise pollution. (Too much)
— Gobinath Chandran (@Gobinath_C) October 4, 2017
Try using law!
Which of the following is NOT a synonym for law?
A. act
B. decree
C. order
D. suggestion
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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