Law

UK: /ˈlɔː/ US: /lɔ/ ,(lô)

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Law / lɔː/ noun

1. Andrew Bonar ( ˈbɒnə ). 1858–1923, British Conservative statesman, born in Canada; prime minister (1922–23)
2. 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)
3. 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
4. Jude. born 1972, British film actor, who starred in The Talented Mr Ripley (1999), Cold Mountain (2003), and Sherlock Holmes (2009)
5. William. 1686–1761, British Anglican divine, best known for A Serious Call to a Holy and Devout Life (1728)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

law¹ /lɔ/   n. 

1. Law the principles, rules, and regulations set up by a government, other authority, or by custom, that apply to all the people of a group;
   a system or collection of such principles and rules:
   [uncountable] a country that is ruled by law.
2. Law a single rule or principle from this collection:
   [countable] They passed a law to punish terrorist acts.
3. Law the field of knowledge concerned with these rules, or the profession that deals with law and legal procedure:
   [uncountable] to study law; to practice law.
4. Law the police, or the people whose job it is to enforce the law:
   [countable* the + ~] in trouble with the law.
5. a rule or principle of proper conduct that reflects the rules of one's conscience, the concepts of natural justice, or the will of God:
   [countable] a moral law.
   [uncountable] divine law.
6. a rule or manner of behavior that is instinctive:
   [countable] the law of self-preservation.
7. (in philosophy, science, etc.) a statement of a relation or sequence of events that will always occur under the same conditions:
   [countable] the laws of motion.
8. a rule or principle thought of as regulating or governing the structure of something, or how its parts are put together:
   [countable] the laws of grammar.

Idioms

9. Idioms be a law to or unto oneself, to act without regard for established controls, customs, or principles.
10. Idioms lay down the law, to issue orders in a firm way.

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

Par•kin•son's law (or Law)/ˈpɑrkɪnsənz ˈlɔ/  n. [uncountable]

1. any of various statements about business and office management expressed in a joking way, as if they were laws of physics:
   An example of Parkinson's law is the statement that work expands to fill the time allotted for it.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

law¹  (lô), n. 

1. Law 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.
2. Law 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. Cf. bylaw, statute law.
3. Law the controlling influence of such rules;
   the condition of society brought about by their observance:
   maintaining law and order.
4. Law a system or collection of such rules.
5. Law the department of knowledge concerned with these rules;
   jurisprudence:
   to study law.
6. Law the body of such rules concerned with a particular subject or derived from a particular source:
   commercial law.
7. Law, Government an act of the supreme legislative body of a state or nation, as distinguished from the constitution.
8. Law the principles applied in the courts of common law, as distinguished from equity.
9. Law the profession that deals with law and legal procedure:
   to practice law.
10. Law legal action;
    litigation:
    to go to law.
11. Government, Law a person, group, or agency acting officially to enforce the law:
    The law arrived at the scene soon after the alarm went off.
12. any rule or injunction that must be obeyed:
    Having a nourishing breakfast was an absolute law in our household.
13. a rule or principle of proper conduct sanctioned by conscience, concepts of natural justice, or the will of a deity:
    a moral law.
14. a rule or manner of behavior that is instinctive or spontaneous:
    the law of self-preservation.
15. (in philosophy, science, etc.)
    • a statement of a relation or sequence of phenomena invariable under the same conditions.
    • a mathematical rule.
16. a principle based on the predictable consequences of an act, condition, etc.:
    the law of supply and demand.
17. 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.
18. a commandment or a revelation from God.
19. (sometimes cap.) a divinely appointed order or system.
20. Judaism the Law. See Law of Moses. 
21. the preceptive part of the Bible, esp. of the New Testament, in contradistinction to its promises:
    the law of Christ.
22. [Brit. 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.
23. Idioms be a law to or unto oneself, to follow one's own inclinations, rules of behavior, etc.;
    act independently or unconventionally, esp. without regard for established mores.
24. Idioms 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.
25. Idioms 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.

v.t. 

26. [Chiefly Dial.] to sue or prosecute.
27. [Brit.] (formerly) to expeditate (an animal).

• Old Norse *lagu, early plural of lag layer, stratum, a laying in order, fixed tune, (in collective sense) law; akin to lay¹, lie²
• Middle English law(e), lagh(e), Old English lagu bef. 1000

law′like′, adj. 

law²  (lô), adj., adv., n. [Obs.]

1. low¹.

law³  (lô), v.i., v.t., n. [Obs.]

1. low².

law⁴  (lô), interj. [Older Use.]

1. Slang Terms (used as an exclamation expressing astonishment.)

• form of lord 1580–90

Law  (lô), n. 

Andrew Bon•ar  (bon′ər), 1858–1923, English statesman, born in Canada: prime minister 1922–23.
1. Biographical John, 1671–1729, Scottish financier.
2. Biographical William, 1686–1761, English clergyman and devotional writer.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

Par′kinson's law′, 

1. the statement, expressed facetiously as if a law of physics, that work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion. Also, Par′kinson's Law′. 

• after C. north, northern. Parkinson 1950–55

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

law / lɔː/ noun

1. 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
2. a rule or body of rules made by the legislature
   See statute law
3. a rule or body of rules made by a municipal or other authority
   See bylaw
4. the condition and control enforced by such rules
5. (in combination): lawcourt
6. a rule of conduct: a law of etiquette
7. one of a set of rules governing a particular field of activity: the laws of tennis
8. the law ⇒ the legal or judicial system
9. the profession or practice of law
10. the police or a police officer
11. Also called: law of nature a generalization based on a recurring fact or event
12. the science or knowledge of law; jurisprudence
13. the principles originating and formerly applied only in courts of common law
    Compare equity3
14. a general principle, formula, or rule describing a phenomenon in mathematics, science, philosophy, etc: the laws of thermodynamics
15. the Law ⇒ (capital)
    short for Law of Moses
16. the English term for Torah
17. go to law ⇒ to resort to legal proceedings on some matter
18. lay down the law ⇒ to speak in an authoritative or dogmatic manner

Related adjective(s): judicial, juridical, legal

Etymology: Old English lagu, from Scandinavian; compare Icelandic lög (pl) things laid down, law

law / lɔː/ adjective

1. a Scots word for low1