a rule of conduct formally recognized as binding or enforced by authority
the whole body of such rules, comprising common law, civil law, and statute law
‘The law supposes that your wife acts under your direction.’ ‘If the law supposes that … the law is a ass – a idiot.’ — Dickens
the science or philosophy of law; jurisprudence
control or authority
Her word was law
(the law) informal the police
a statement of an order or relation of natural phenomena
the first law of thermodynamics
a necessary relation between mathematical or logical expressions
a rule of action or procedure in a sport
the laws of cricket
(often Law) the revelation of the will of God set out in the Old Testament
(the Law) the first part of the Jewish scriptures; the Pentateuch
the precepts of the Pentateuch
to be unconventional
according to the law
to give orders or express one's opinions with great force
to do something, e.g. as an act of revenge, justice, or self-defence, that is not strictly legal or can by law only be done by the police or other authorized people