outlaw

UK: /ˈaʊtlɔː/ US: /ˈaʊtˌlɔ/ ,(out′lô′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

out•law /ˈaʊtˌlɔ/   n. [countable]

1. a criminal, esp. one who is running away and hiding to avoid being captured by legal authorities.

v. [~ + object]

2. to make unlawful or illegal:
   Abortion was outlawed in that state.
3. to prohibit:
   to outlaw smoking in a theater.

adj. [before a noun]

4. of, relating to, or characteristic of an outlaw:
   the outlaw society in the early days of the Old West; the dictator's outlaw regime.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

out•law  (out′lô′), n. 

1. a lawless person or habitual criminal, esp. one who is a fugitive from the law.
2. a person, group, or thing excluded from the benefits and protection of the law.
3. a person under sentence of outlawry.
4. a person who refuses to be governed by the established rules or practices of any group;
   rebel;
   nonconformist:
   one of the outlaws of country music.
5. Dialect Terms [Chiefly Western U.S.]
   • a horse that cannot be broken;
     a mean, intractable horse.
   • any rogue animal.

v.t. 

6. to make unlawful or illegal:
   The Eighteenth Amendment outlawed the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating beverages in the U.S.
7. to deprive of thebenefits and protection of the law:
   Members of guerrilla bands who refused to surrender were outlawed.
8. to prohibit:
   to outlaw smoking in a theater.
9. to remove from legal jurisdiction;
   deprive of legal force.

adj. 

10. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of an outlaw.

• Old Norse ūtlagi one outside the protection of the law; see out, law¹
• Middle English outlawe, Old English ūtlaga bef. 1150

Synonyms

• 1. desperado, bandit, brigand.
• 8. proscribe, ban, forbid.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

outlaw / ˈaʊtˌlɔː/ noun

1. (formerly) a person excluded from the law and deprived of its protection
2. any fugitive from the law, esp a habitual transgressor

verb (transitive)

1. to put (a person) outside the law and deprive of its protection
2. to ban