la va|tory pa|per N‑UNCOUNT Lavatory paper is paper that you use to clean yourself after you have got rid of urine or faeces from your body. [BRIT , FORMAL ] in AM, use toilet paper
lav|en|der /læ v I ndə r / (lavenders )
1 N‑UNCOUNT Lavender is a garden plant with sweet-smelling, bluish-purple flowers.
2 COLOUR Lavender is used to describe things that are pale bluish-purple in colour.
lav|ish /læ v I ʃ/ (lavishes , lavishing , lavished )
1 ADJ If you describe something as lavish , you mean that it is very elaborate and impressive and a lot of money has been spent on it. □ …a lavish party to celebrate Bryan's fiftieth birthday. □ He staged the most lavish productions of Mozart. ● lav|ish|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ …the train's lavishly furnished carriages.
2 ADJ If you say that spending, praise, or the use of something is lavish , you mean that someone spends a lot or that something is praised or used a lot. □ Critics attack his lavish spending and flamboyant style. □ The book drew lavish praise from literary critics.
3 ADJ If you say that someone is lavish in the way they behave, you mean that they give, spend, or use a lot of something. □ [+ in ] American reviewers are lavish in their praise of this book. □ He was always a lavish spender. [Also + with ] ● lav|ish|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ Entertaining in style needn't mean spending lavishly.
4 VERB If you lavish money, affection, or praise on someone or something, you spend a lot of money on them or give them a lot of affection or praise. □ [V n + on/upon ] Prince Sadruddin lavished praise on Britain's contributions to world diplomacy. □ [V n + with ] The emperor promoted the general and lavished him with gifts.
law ◆◆◆ /lɔː / (laws )
1 N‑SING The law is a system of rules that a society or government develops in order to deal with crime, business agreements, and social relationships. You can also use the law to refer to the people who work in this system. □ Obscene and threatening phone calls are against the law. □ [+ on ] He had broken the law on election funding and illegally received money from abroad. □ There must be changes in the law to stop this sort of thing happening. □ The book analyses why women kill and how the law treats them.
2 N‑UNCOUNT [usu adj N ] Law is used to refer to a particular branch of the law, such as criminal law or company law . □ He was a professor of criminal law at Harvard University law school. □ Important questions of constitutional law were involved.
3 N‑COUNT [oft n N ] A law is one of the rules in a system of law which deals with a particular type of agreement, relationship, or crime. □ …the country's liberal political asylum law. □ The law was passed on a second vote.
4 N‑PLURAL The laws of an organization or activity are its rules, which are used to organize and control it. □ [+ of ] …the laws of the Church of England. □ [+ of ] Match officials should not tolerate such behaviour but instead enforce the laws of the game.
5 N‑COUNT A law is a rule or set of rules for good behaviour which is considered right and important by the majority of people for moral, religious, or emotional reasons. □ …inflexible moral laws.
6 N‑COUNT A law is a natural process in which a particular event or thing always leads to a particular result. □ The laws of nature are absolute.
7 N‑COUNT A law is a scientific rule that someone has invented to explain a particular natural process. □ [+ of ] …the law of gravity.
8 N‑UNCOUNT Law or the law is all the professions which deal with advising people about the law, representing people in court, or giving decisions and punishments. □ A career in law is becoming increasingly attractive to young people. □ Nearly 100 law firms are being referred to the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal.
9 N‑UNCOUNT Law is the study of systems of law and how laws work. □ He came to Oxford and studied law. □ He holds a law degree from Bristol University.
10 → see also court of law , rule of law
11 PHRASE If you accuse someone of thinking they are above the law , you criticize them for thinking that they are so clever or important that they do not need to obey the law. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ One opposition member of parliament accuses the government of wanting to be above the law.
12 PHRASE The law of averages is the idea that something is sure to happen at some time, because of the number of times it generally happens or is expected to happen. □ On the law of averages we just can't go on losing.
13 PHRASE If you have to do something by law or if you are not allowed to do something by law , the law states that you have to do it or that you are not allowed to do it. □ By law all restaurants must display their prices outside.
14 PHRASE If you say that someone lays down the law , you are critical of them because they give other people orders and they think that they are always right. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ …traditional parents, who believed in laying down the law for their offspring.
15 PHRASE If someone takes the law into their own hands , they punish someone or do something to put a situation right, instead of waiting for the police or the legal system to take action. □ If sentences are too lenient, victims and their families may be inclined to take the law into their own hands.