law
♦♦♦ law /l'ɔː/ (laws)
1 [N-SING] the N
The law is a system of rules that a society or government develops in order to deal with crime, business agreements, and social relationships. You can also use the law to refer to the people who work in this system.
Obscene and threatening phone calls are against the law...
They are seeking permission to begin criminal proceedings against him for breaking the law on financing political parties...
There must be changes in the law quickly to stop this sort of thing ever happening to anyone else...
The book analyses why women kill and how the law treats them.
2 [N-UNCOUNT] usu adj N
Law is used to refer to a particular branch of the law, such as criminal law or company law.
He was a professor of criminal law at Harvard University law school...
Important questions of constitutional law were involved.
3 [N-COUNT] oft n N
A law is one of the rules in a system of law which deals with a particular type of agreement, relationship, or crime.
...the country's liberal political asylum law...
The law was passed on a second vote.
4 [N-PLURAL] the N of n, supp N
The laws of an organization or activity are its rules, which are used to organize and control it.
...the laws of the Church of England...
Match officials should not tolerate such behaviour but instead enforce the laws of the game.
= rule
5 [N-COUNT]
A law is a rule or set of rules for good behaviour which is considered right and important by the majority of people for moral, religious, or emotional reasons.
...inflexible moral laws.
= code
6 [N-COUNT] with supp
A law is a natural process in which a particular event or thing always leads to a particular result.
The laws of nature are absolute.
7 [N-COUNT] with supp
A law is a scientific rule that someone has invented to explain a particular natural process.
...the law of gravity.
8 [N-UNCOUNT]
Law or the law is all the professions which deal with advising people about the law, representing people in court, or giving decisions and punishments.
A career in law is becoming increasingly attractive to young people...
Nearly 100 law firms are being referred to the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal.
9 [N-UNCOUNT]
Law is the study of systems of law and how laws work.
He came to Oxford and studied law...
He holds a law degree from Bristol University.
10
see also court of law, rule of law
11 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If you accuse someone of thinking they are above the law, you criticize them for thinking that they are so clever or important that they do not need to obey the law.
One opposition member of parliament accuses the government of wanting to be above the law...
12 [PHRASE]
The law of averages is the idea that something is sure to happen at some time, because of the number of times it generally happens or is expected to happen.
On the law of averages we just can't go on losing.
13 [PHRASE] PHR with cl
If you have to do something by law or if you are not allowed to do something by law, the law states that you have to do it or that you are not allowed to do it.
By law all restaurants must display their prices outside...
14 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you say that someone lays down the law, you are critical of them because they give other people orders and they think that they are always right.
...traditional parents, who believed in laying down the law for their offspring.
15 [PHRASE] V inflects
If someone takes the law into their own hands, they punish someone or do something to put a situation right, instead of waiting for the police or the legal system to take action.
The speeding motorist was pinned to the ground by angry locals who took the law into their own hands until police arrived.
16 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If you say that someone is a law unto himself or herself, you mean that they behave in an independent way, ignoring laws, rules, or conventional ways of doing things.
Some of the landowners were a law unto themselves. There was nobody to check their excesses and they exploited the people.
17
Sod's law: see sodcan|on law
[N-UNCOUNT]
Canon law is the law of the Christian church. It has authority only for that church and its members.
The Church's canon law forbids remarriage of divorced persons.case law
[N-UNCOUNT]
Case law is law that has been established by following decisions made by judges in earlier cases. (LEGAL)civ|il law
[N-UNCOUNT] oft the N
Civil law is the part of a country's set of laws which is concerned with the private affairs of citizens, for example marriage and property ownership, rather than with crime.
≠ criminal lawcom|mon law
also common-law
1 [N-UNCOUNT]
Common law is the system of law which is based on judges' decisions and on custom rather than on written laws.
Canadian libel law is based on English common law.
2 [ADJ] ADJ n
A common law relationship is regarded as a marriage because it has lasted a long time, although no official marriage contract has been signed.
...his common law wife.court of law (courts of law)
[N-COUNT]
When you refer to a court of law, you are referring to a legal court, especially when talking about the evidence that might be given in a trial.
We have a witness who would swear to it in a court of law.law and or|der
[N-UNCOUNT]
When there is law and order in a country, the laws are generally accepted and obeyed, so that society there functions normally.
If there were a breakdown of law and order, the army might be tempted to intervene.law court (law courts)
[N-COUNT]
A law court is a place where legal matters are decided by a judge and jury or by a magistrate.
She would never resort to the law courts to resolve her marital problems.mar|tial law
[N-UNCOUNT]
Martial law is control of an area by soldiers, not the police.
The military leadership have lifted martial law in several more towns.rule of law
[N-SING] usu the N
The rule of law refers to a situation in which the people in a society obey its laws and enable it to function properly. (FORMAL)
I am confident that we can restore peace, stability and respect for the rule of law.
1 [N-SING] the N
The law is a system of rules that a society or government develops in order to deal with crime, business agreements, and social relationships. You can also use the law to refer to the people who work in this system.
Obscene and threatening phone calls are against the law...
They are seeking permission to begin criminal proceedings against him for breaking the law on financing political parties...
There must be changes in the law quickly to stop this sort of thing ever happening to anyone else...
The book analyses why women kill and how the law treats them.
2 [N-UNCOUNT] usu adj N
Law is used to refer to a particular branch of the law, such as criminal law or company law.
He was a professor of criminal law at Harvard University law school...
Important questions of constitutional law were involved.
3 [N-COUNT] oft n N
A law is one of the rules in a system of law which deals with a particular type of agreement, relationship, or crime.
...the country's liberal political asylum law...
The law was passed on a second vote.
4 [N-PLURAL] the N of n, supp N
The laws of an organization or activity are its rules, which are used to organize and control it.
...the laws of the Church of England...
Match officials should not tolerate such behaviour but instead enforce the laws of the game.
= rule
5 [N-COUNT]
A law is a rule or set of rules for good behaviour which is considered right and important by the majority of people for moral, religious, or emotional reasons.
...inflexible moral laws.
= code
6 [N-COUNT] with supp
A law is a natural process in which a particular event or thing always leads to a particular result.
The laws of nature are absolute.
7 [N-COUNT] with supp
A law is a scientific rule that someone has invented to explain a particular natural process.
...the law of gravity.
8 [N-UNCOUNT]
Law or the law is all the professions which deal with advising people about the law, representing people in court, or giving decisions and punishments.
A career in law is becoming increasingly attractive to young people...
Nearly 100 law firms are being referred to the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal.
9 [N-UNCOUNT]
Law is the study of systems of law and how laws work.
He came to Oxford and studied law...
He holds a law degree from Bristol University.
10
see also court of law, rule of law
11 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If you accuse someone of thinking they are above the law, you criticize them for thinking that they are so clever or important that they do not need to obey the law.
One opposition member of parliament accuses the government of wanting to be above the law...
12 [PHRASE]
The law of averages is the idea that something is sure to happen at some time, because of the number of times it generally happens or is expected to happen.
On the law of averages we just can't go on losing.
13 [PHRASE] PHR with cl
If you have to do something by law or if you are not allowed to do something by law, the law states that you have to do it or that you are not allowed to do it.
By law all restaurants must display their prices outside...
14 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you say that someone lays down the law, you are critical of them because they give other people orders and they think that they are always right.
...traditional parents, who believed in laying down the law for their offspring.
15 [PHRASE] V inflects
If someone takes the law into their own hands, they punish someone or do something to put a situation right, instead of waiting for the police or the legal system to take action.
The speeding motorist was pinned to the ground by angry locals who took the law into their own hands until police arrived.
16 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If you say that someone is a law unto himself or herself, you mean that they behave in an independent way, ignoring laws, rules, or conventional ways of doing things.
Some of the landowners were a law unto themselves. There was nobody to check their excesses and they exploited the people.
17
Sod's law: see sodcan|on law
[N-UNCOUNT]
Canon law is the law of the Christian church. It has authority only for that church and its members.
The Church's canon law forbids remarriage of divorced persons.case law
[N-UNCOUNT]
Case law is law that has been established by following decisions made by judges in earlier cases. (LEGAL)civ|il law
[N-UNCOUNT] oft the N
Civil law is the part of a country's set of laws which is concerned with the private affairs of citizens, for example marriage and property ownership, rather than with crime.
≠ criminal lawcom|mon law
also common-law
1 [N-UNCOUNT]
Common law is the system of law which is based on judges' decisions and on custom rather than on written laws.
Canadian libel law is based on English common law.
2 [ADJ] ADJ n
A common law relationship is regarded as a marriage because it has lasted a long time, although no official marriage contract has been signed.
...his common law wife.court of law (courts of law)
[N-COUNT]
When you refer to a court of law, you are referring to a legal court, especially when talking about the evidence that might be given in a trial.
We have a witness who would swear to it in a court of law.law and or|der
[N-UNCOUNT]
When there is law and order in a country, the laws are generally accepted and obeyed, so that society there functions normally.
If there were a breakdown of law and order, the army might be tempted to intervene.law court (law courts)
[N-COUNT]
A law court is a place where legal matters are decided by a judge and jury or by a magistrate.
She would never resort to the law courts to resolve her marital problems.mar|tial law
[N-UNCOUNT]
Martial law is control of an area by soldiers, not the police.
The military leadership have lifted martial law in several more towns.rule of law
[N-SING] usu the N
The rule of law refers to a situation in which the people in a society obey its laws and enable it to function properly. (FORMAL)
I am confident that we can restore peace, stability and respect for the rule of law.