Law Police Rule People Lɔː System Order Enforce

• to pass a law (= officially make it part of the system of laws)
• police don't have the resources to enforce the law against dumping waste.
• there ought to be a law against it!
• the company's actions violated the law on equal employment.

law

1. a rule that deals with a particular crime, agreement, etc.
• SEE ALSO blue law
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/blue-law
• to pass a law (= officially make it part of the system of laws)
• Police don't have the resources to enforce the law against dumping waste.
• There ought to be a law against it!
• The company's actions violated the law on equal employment.
• The suspects were in clear violation of immigration laws.

Extra Examples

• The government has introduced some tough new laws on food hygiene.
• The country has very strict gun laws.
• He was charged under the 1996 law against hiring illegal immigrants.
• the passage of a restrictive immigration law in 1924
• the legislators who drafted the law
• the laws regulating firearms
• the laws regarding child actors
• the law concerning industrial action ballots
• a local law against keeping horses
• a law recognizing civil unions for same-sex couples
• a law limiting the hours of work to ten hours per day
• Laws criminalizing same-sex relationships were ruled unconstitutional.
• Judges interpret this law in different ways.
• Congress amended the law in 1998.
• Environmental laws are strict about polluting precious water.
• The law applies equally to businesses large and small.
• The law forbids gambling of any kind.
• We believe this law is unconstitutional.
2. the whole system of rules that everyone in a country or society must obey
• If they entered the building they would be breaking the law.
• The reforms have recently become law.
• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 became the law of the land on July 2, 1964.
• state/federal law
• State law prohibits gambling in public places.
• In Sweden it is against the law to hit a child.
• Defence attorneys can use any means within the law to get their client off.
• to operate outside the law
• British schools are required by law to publish their exam results.
• Under existing law, journalists cannot refuse to provide information to a jury.
• Do not think you are above the law (= that you cannot be punished by the law).
• They acted in accordance with the law of the country.
• The constitution guarantees equality before the law for all.
• law enforcement agencies/officials
• Kate's word was law in the Brown household.

Extra Examples

• A presidential veto prevented the bill from becoming law.
• As the law stands, you can get married at sixteen.
• By law, you are obliged to install smoke alarms in the factory.
• It's the job of the police to enforce the law.
• No one is above the law.
• Parliament voted for the bill to become law.
• The building was raided by law enforcement agents.
• The company is operating entirely within the law.
• The law is clear: bribery is wrong.
• The wearing of a crash helmet is required by law.
• What you did was clearly against the law.
• individuals who are acting beyond the law
• rebels who live outside the law
• the law governing school attendance
• the law relating to the sale of goods
3. a particular branch of the law
• SEE ALSO canon law
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/canon-law
• He specializes in international law.
• tax/employment law
• According to copyright law, the author is the owner of the material.
4. the study of the law as a subject at university, etc.; the profession of being a lawyer
• a law student/professor
• Jane is studying law.
• He's in law school.
• He's at law school.
• What made you go into law?
• a law firm

Extra Examples

• a room filled with law books
• She lost her job at a Boston law office.
5. used to refer to the police and the legal system
• Jim is always getting into trouble with the law.
• She was well known for her brushes with the law.
6. the fact that something always happens in the same way in an activity or in nature
• SYNONYM principle
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/principle
• The usual laws of supply and demand do not seem to apply in this case.
• the laws of nature/physics
7. a scientific rule that somebody has stated to explain a natural process
• SEE ALSO legal
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/legal
• the first law of thermodynamics
• Do you remember anything about Ohm's Law?
8. one of the rules that controls an organization or activity
• the laws of the Church
• The first law of kung fu is to defend yourself.
• the laws of cricket
9. a rule for good behaviour or how you should behave in a particular place or situation
• He frequently behaved as though moral laws did not exist.
• Their world is shaped by their parents' attitudes and the unspoken laws of the street.
10. to behave in an independent way and ignore rules or what other people want you to do
• Boys of that age are a law unto themselves.
11. to ask a court to settle a problem or disagreement
• They went to law to get back their property.
12. a situation in which people obey the law and behave in a peaceful way
• The government struggled to maintain law and order.
• After the riots, the military was brought in to restore law and order.
• They claim to be the party of law and order.
• Martial law was imposed to prevent the breakdown of law and order.
13. the principle that one thing will happen as often as another if you try enough times
• Keep applying and by the law of averages you'll get a job sooner or later.
14. a situation in which people are prepared to harm other people in order to succeed
• These criminal gangs only recognize the law of the jungle.
15. to tell somebody with force what they should or should not do
• My dad started laying down the law about what time I should come home.
16. the exact words of a law or rule rather than its general meaning
• They insist on sticking to the letter of the law.
• We might be guilty of slightly bending the letter of the law.
• In spite of the difficulties it would cause her family, the judge stuck to the letter of the law and jailed her.
17. in trouble with the police
18. if you already have or control something, it is difficult for somebody else to take it away from you, even if they have the legal right to it
19. the condition in which all members of society, including its political leaders, accept the authority of the law
• Democracy and the rule of law are yet to be firmly established in the country.
20. to do something illegal in order to punish somebody for doing something wrong, instead of letting the police deal with them
• After a series of burglaries in the area, the police are worried that residents might take the law into their own hands.
• When police failed to arrest the suspect, local people took the law into their own hands and beat him up.
21. used to tell somebody who is criticizing you that you are not doing anything wrong
• I'll sing if I want to—there's no law against it.

Word Origin

• Old English lagu, from Old Norse lag ‘something laid down or fixed’, of Germanic origin and related to lay (verb).