16 PHRASE If you say that someone is a law unto himself or herself, you mean that they behave in an independent way, ignoring laws, rules, or conventional ways of doing things. □ Some of the landowners were a law unto themselves.
17 Sod's Law → see sod SYNONYMS law NOUN 3
constitution: …the American Constitution.
legislation: …a letter calling for legislation to protect women's rights.
code: …Article 159 of the Turkish penal code.
charter: …Article 50 of the United Nations Charter.
act: …an Act of Parliament.
la w-abiding ADJ [usu ADJ n] A law-abiding person always obeys the law and is considered to be good and honest because of this. □ The Prime Minister said: 'I am anxious that the law should protect decent law-abiding citizens and their property.'
la w and o r|der N‑UNCOUNT When there is law and order in a country, the laws are generally accepted and obeyed, so that society there functions normally. □ If there were a breakdown of law and order, the army might be tempted to intervene.
la w-breaker (law-breakers ) also lawbreaker N‑COUNT A law-breaker is someone who breaks the law.
la w-breaking also law breaking N‑UNCOUNT Law-breaking is any kind of illegal activity. □ Civil disobedience, violent or non-violent, is intentional law breaking.
la w court (law courts ) N‑COUNT A law court is a place where legal matters are decided by a judge and jury or by a magistrate. □ She would never resort to the law courts to resolve her marital problems.
la w-enforcement N‑UNCOUNT [usu N n] Law-enforcement agencies or officials are responsible for catching people who break the law. [mainly AM ] □ We need to restore respect for the law-enforcement agencies.
law|ful /lɔː fʊl/ ADJ If an activity, organization, or product is lawful , it is allowed by law. [FORMAL ] □ It remains lawful to own these swords but not to carry them in public. □ Hunting is a lawful activity. ● law|ful|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ Amnesty International is trying to establish whether the police acted lawfully in shooting him.
law|less /lɔː ləs/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Lawless actions break the law, especially in a wild and violent way. □ …lawless behaviour. ● law|less|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ Lawlessness is a major problem.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A lawless place or time is one where people do not respect the law. □ …lawless inner-city streets plagued by muggings, thefts, assaults and even murder.
law|maker /lɔː me I kə r / (lawmakers ) N‑COUNT A lawmaker is someone such as a politician who is responsible for proposing and passing new laws. [AM ]
law|man /lɔː mæn/ (lawmen )
1 N‑COUNT Lawmen are men such as police officers or lawyers, whose work involves the law. [JOURNALISM ] □ …the 61-year-old lawman who headed the enquiry.
2 N‑COUNT In former times in western North America, a lawman was a sheriff or deputy sheriff. [AM ]
lawn /lɔː n/ (lawns ) N‑VAR A lawn is an area of grass that is kept cut short and is usually part of someone's garden or backyard, or part of a park.
lawn|mow|er /lɔː nmoʊə r / (lawnmowers ) also lawn mower N‑COUNT A lawnmower is a machine for cutting grass on lawns.
la wn ten|nis N‑UNCOUNT Lawn tennis is the same as tennis .
law|suit /lɔː suːt/ (lawsuits ) N‑COUNT A lawsuit is a case in a court of law which concerns a dispute between two people or organizations. [FORMAL ] □ [+ against ] The dispute culminated last week in a lawsuit against the government.
law|yer ◆◆◇ /lɔ I ə r / (lawyers ) N‑COUNT A lawyer is a person who is qualified to advise people about the law and represent them in court. □ Prosecution and defense lawyers are expected to deliver closing arguments next week. SYNONYMS lawyer NOUN
attorney: …a prosecuting attorney.
solicitor: You will need advice from a solicitor.
barrister: But their barristers pleaded for some leniency.
counseclass="underline" Singleton's counsel said after the trial that he would appeal.
advocate: The court will appoint a public advocate to represent your son.
lax /læ ks/ (laxer , laxest ) ADJ If you say that a person's behaviour or a system is lax , you mean they are not careful or strict about maintaining high standards. □ One of the problem areas is lax security for airport personnel. □ There have been allegations from survivors that safety standards had been lax. ● lax|ity N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] The laxity of export control authorities has made a significant contribution to the problem.
laxa|tive /læ ksət I v/ (laxatives )
1 N‑VAR A laxative is food or medicine that you take to make you go to the toilet. □ Foods that ferment quickly in the stomach are excellent natural laxatives.
2 ADJ A laxative food or medicine is one that you take to make you go to the toilet. □ The artificial sweetener sorbitol has a laxative effect. □ Molasses are mildly laxative and something of a general tonic.
lay
➊ VERB AND NOUN USES
➋ ADJECTIVE USES
➊ lay ◆◆◇ /le I / (lays , laying , laid ) In standard English, the form lay is also the past tense of the verb lie in some meanings. In informal English, people sometimes use the word lay instead of lie in those meanings. → Please look at categories 13 to 23 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.