law
- Top 1000
Sense 1
- noun
- A2
an official rule that everybody in a country must obey, made by its government
A new law bans smoking in all public buildings.
Parliament passed the law after months of heated debate.
The law requires every driver to wear a seat belt.
Common collocations: pass a law · a new law · break a law · a law against something · under the law
Part of: Public offices, Media
Sense 2
- noun
- B1
the whole set of rules of a country, or the subject you learn if you want to work with them
She wants to study law and work for a charity.
Driving without a licence is against the law everywhere.
Law students spend hours reading old court decisions.
Nobody is above the law, whatever job they have.
Common collocations: study law · law school · against the law · practise law · international law
Part of: School subjects, School and teaching, Jobs, Public offices
Sense 3 · less common
- noun
- B2
a statement about something in nature that always happens in the same way, found by scientists
The law of gravity keeps our feet on the ground.
Every experiment so far agrees with this simple law.
Heat always moves this way; it is a physical law.
Common collocations: the law of gravity · the laws of physics · a natural law · obey a law · a law of nature
Part of: School subjects, Science and technology