law.
The body of binding rules and regulations, customs, and standards established in a community by its legislative and judicial authorities.
Meaning & usage
The body of binding rules and regulations, customs, and standards established in a community by its legislative and judicial authorities.
The courts interpret the law but should not make it.
In theory, entrapment is against the law.
The body of binding rules and regulations, customs, and standards established in a community by its legislative and judicial authorities. The body of such rules that pertain to a particular topic.
property law
commercial hunting and fishing law
The body of binding rules and regulations, customs, and standards established in a community by its legislative and judicial authorities. Common law, as contrasted with equity.
A binding regulation or custom established in a community in this way.
There is a law against importing wallabies.
A new law forbids driving on that road.
A rule, such as: Any rule that must or should be obeyed, concerning behaviours and their consequences. (Compare mores.)
"Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you" is a good law to follow.
the law of self-preservation
A rule, such as: A rule or principle regarding the construction of language or art.
the laws of playwriting and poetry
A rule, such as: A statement (in physics, etc) of an (observed, established) order or sequence or relationship of phenomena which is invariable under certain conditions. (Compare theory.)
the laws of thermodynamics
Newton's third law of motion states that to every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction.
A rule, such as: A statement (of relation) that is true under specified conditions; a mathematical or logical rule.
Mathematical laws can be proved purely through mathematics, without scientific experimentation.
A rule, such as: Any statement of the relation of acts and conditions to their consequences.
the law of scarcity
the law of supply and demand
A rule, such as: A sound law; a regular change in the pronunciation of a language.
Grimm's law
Dahl's law
A rule, such as: One of the official rules of cricket as codified by the its (former) governing body, the MCC.
The control and order brought about by the observance of such rules.
They worked to maintain law and order.
It was a territory without law, marked by violence.
A person or group that act(s) with authority to uphold such rules and order (for example, one or more police officers).
Here comes the law — run!
then the law arrived on the scene
The profession that deals with such rules (as lawyers, judges, police officers, etc).
He is studying for a career in law.
She has practiced law in New York for twenty years.
Jurisprudence, the field of knowledge which encompasses these rules.
She went to university to study law.
Litigation; legal action (as a means of maintaining or restoring order, redressing wrongs, etc.).
They were quick to go to law.
An allowance of distance or time (a head start) given to a weaker (human or animal) competitor in a race, to make the race more fair.
A mode of operation of the flight controls of a fly-by-wire aircraft.
normal law; alternate law; direct law
One of two metaphysical forces ruling the world in some fantasy settings, also called order, and opposed to chaos.
An oath sworn before a court, especially disclaiming a debt. (Chiefly in the phrases “wager of law”, “wage one's law”, “perform one's law”, “lose one's law”.)
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *lagą Old Norse lag Old Norse lǫgbor. Old English lagu Middle English lawe English law From Middle English lawe, laȝe, from Old English lagu (“law”), borrowed from Old Norse lǫg (“law”, literally “things laid down or firmly established”), originally the plural of lag (“layer, stratum, a laying in order, measure, stroke”), from Proto-Germanic *lagą (“that which is laid down”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie”). Cognate with Scots law (“law”), Icelandic lög (“things laid down, law”), Faroese lóg (“law”), Norwegian lov (“law”), Swedish lag (“law”), Danish lov (“law”), Finnish laki (“law”). Compare typologically distant cognate Russian уложе́ние (uložénije). Displaced native Old English ǣ and ġesetnes. More at lay. Not related to legal, nor to French loi, Spanish ley, all of which ultimately derive from Latin lēx, from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to gather”).
To work as a lawyer; to practice law.
To prosecute or sue (someone), to litigate.
To rule over (with a certain effect) by law; to govern.
To enforce the law.
To subject to legal restrictions.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *lagą Old Norse lag Old Norse lǫgbor. Old English lagu Middle English lawe English law From Middle English lawe, laȝe, from Old English lagu (“law”), borrowed from Old Norse lǫg (“law”, literally “things laid down or firmly established”), originally the plural of lag (“layer, stratum, a laying in order, measure, stroke”), from Proto-Germanic *lagą (“that which is laid down”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie”). Cognate with Scots law (“law”), Icelandic lög (“things laid down, law”), Faroese lóg (“law”), Norwegian lov (“law”), Swedish lag (“law”), Danish lov (“law”), Finnish laki (“law”). Compare typologically distant cognate Russian уложе́ние (uložénije). Displaced native Old English ǣ and ġesetnes. More at lay. Not related to legal, nor to French loi, Spanish ley, all of which ultimately derive from Latin lēx, from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to gather”).
A tumulus of stones.
A hill.
Where this word comes from
From Northern Middle English lawe, from Old English hlāw (“burial mound”). Also spelled low. See also Scots law.
A score; share of expense; legal charge.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English lagh, from Old Norse lag (“that which is lying or laid, position, price, way, sting, blow”), from Proto-Germanic *lagą (“that which is laid”). Cognate with Scots lauch (“one's tavern-reckoning or one's share of the cost, a score; a payment for drink or entertainment”), Middle English lai (“one's share of expenses, one's bill or account”).
An exclamation of mild surprise; lawks; in interjections, a minced oath for Lord.
Where this word comes from
Compare la and Lawd.
Try it on your idea.
law has 3 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.