law

law is on the Basic English 850 List.

laugh - law - lead

law is one of the 1000 most common headwords.

laugh - law - lay

Pronunciation

• enPR: lô, IPA ^(key): /lɔː/
• SAMPA: /lO:/

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Noun

Singular law

Plural laws

1. (countable & uncountable) Laws are the official rules of a government or organisation.

   We have defined crime as behaviour which breaks the criminal law.

   We believe that this law is wrong and we are not prepared to obey such a law.

   The Kyoto treaty became law in 2005.

2. (uncountable) The law is the police.
3. (countable) A law is something that is always true.
4. (uncountable) Law is the study of laws.

Related words

• civil law
• common law
• criminal law