law
/lɔː/ nounDefinition
the law › the system of official rules in a country: You're breaking the law. It's against the law (= illegal) not to wear seat belts. It's their job to enforce the law.
by law › If you have to do something by law, it is illegal not to do it: They have to provide a contract by law.
RULE [C] › an official rule in a country: There are laws against drinking in the street. They led the fight to impose laws on smoking.
law and order › the obeying of laws in society: a breakdown in law and order
SUBJECT [U] › the subject or job of understanding and dealing with the official laws of a country: to study/practise law a law school/firm a specialist in civil/criminal law
ALWAYS TRUE [C] › something that is always true in science, mathematics, etc.: the laws of nature/physics the law of averages/gravity
→ See also brother-in-law → See also common-law → See also daughter-in-law → See also father-in-law → See also in-laws → See also martial law → See also mother-in-law → See also sister-in-law → See also son-in-law (Definition of law noun from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary
© Cambridge University Press)
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