- (n.) Collectively, the whole body of rules relating to one subject or emanating from one source; -- including usually the writings pertaining to them, and judicial proceedings under them; as, divine law; English law; Roman law; the law of real property; insurance law.
- (n.) In morals: The will of God as the rule for the disposition and conduct of all responsible beings toward him and toward each other; a rule of living, conformable to righteousness; the rule of action as obligatory on the conscience or moral nature.
- (n.) Legal science; jurisprudence; the principles of equity; applied justice.
- (interj.) An exclamation of mild surprise.
- (n.) Trial by the laws of the land; judicial remedy; litigation; as, to go law.
- (v.t.) Same as Lawe, v. t.
- (n.) The Jewish or Mosaic code, and that part of Scripture where it is written, in distinction from the gospel; hence, also, the Old Testament.
- (n.) In matematics: The rule according to which anything, as the change of value of a variable or the value of the terms of a series, proceeds; mode or order of sequence.
- (n.) An oath, as in the presence of a court.
- (n.) Any edict, decree, order, ordinance, statute, resolution, judicial, decision, usage, etc. or recognized, and enforced, by the controlling authority.
- (n.) In philosophy and physics: A rule of being, operation or change, so certain and constant that it is conceived of as imposed by the will of God or by some controlling authority; as, the law of gravitation; the laws of motion; the law heredity; the laws of thought; the laws of cause and effect; law of self-preservation.
- (n.) In general, a rule of being or of conduct, established by an authority able to enforce its will; a controlling regulation; the mode or order according to which an agent or a power acts.
- (n.) In arts, works, games, etc.: The rules of construction or of procedure, conforming to the conditions of success; a principle, maxim; or usage; as, the laws of poetry, of architecture, of courtesy or of whist.
- (n.) An organic rule, as a constitution or charter, establishing and defining the conditions of the existence of a state or other organized community.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). law. Retrieved September 22, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/law/definitions/2026959 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "law" http://smartdefine.org/law/definitions/2026959 (accessed September 22, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, law, Smart Define, viewed 22 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/law/definitions/2026959>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "law" 27 May 2011. Web. 22 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/law/definitions/2026959> |