legal

1 of 2

adjective

le·​gal ˈlē-gəl How to pronounce legal (audio)
1
: of or relating to law
She has many legal problems.
2
a
: deriving authority from or founded on law : de jure
a legal government
b
: having a formal status derived from law often without a basis in actual fact : titular
a corporation is a legal but not a real person
c
: established by law
especially : statutory
the legal test of mental capacity K. C. Masteller
3
: conforming to or permitted by law or established rules
The referee said it was a legal play.
Fishing in this lake is legal.
4
: recognized or made effective by a court of law as distinguished from a court of equity
5
: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of the profession of law or of one of its members
a bottle … that some legal friend had sent himJ. G. Cozzens
6
: created by the constructions of the law
A legal fiction is something assumed in law to be a fact regardless of the truth of that assumption.

legal

2 of 2

noun

: one that conforms to rules or the law
Choose the Right Synonym for legal

lawful, legal, legitimate, licit mean being in accordance with law.

lawful may apply to conformity with law of any sort (such as natural, divine, common, or canon).

the lawful sovereign

legal applies to what is sanctioned by law or in conformity with the law, especially as it is written or administered by the courts.

legal residents of the state

legitimate may apply to a legal right or status but also, in extended use, to a right or status supported by tradition, custom, or accepted standards.

a perfectly legitimate question about taxes

licit applies to a strict conformity to the provisions of the law and applies especially to what is regulated by law.

the licit use of drugs by doctors

Examples of legal in a Sentence

Adjective She has a lot of legal problems. Do you know your legal rights? The amount of alcohol in his blood exceeded the legal limit. What you did was not legal. “Is it legal to fish in this river?” “Yes, it's perfectly legal.” The referee said it was a legal play.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The influencers living in the United States, however, do face potential legal risks. Louise Matsakis, WIRED, 10 Mar. 2024 The executioners must have at least three years of medical experience and cannot have blood or legal relationships to either the prisoner, the prisoner's victims or their respective families. Kevin Fixler Idaho Statesman (tns), arkansasonline.com, 10 Mar. 2024 Corporate networks bolt an old legal structure, C-corporations and LLCs and the like, onto a new network structure. Chris Dixon, Fortune, 10 Mar. 2024 Such pushback has prompted Cushman’s group to focus on ensuring the implementation and maintenance of its prior gains, rather than advocating for broader changes like ending qualified immunity, a legal framework that protects law enforcement officers from civil liability for their actions. Tom Jackman, Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2024 Concerned experts Artificial intelligence researchers, professors and legal experts are concerned about AI’s mass adoption before regulators have the ability or willingness to rein it in. Samantha Murphy Kelly, CNN, 10 Mar. 2024 The legal drama spun around the question of whether Trump’s lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, who had made the payoff to Daniels by drawing on his home equity, was reimbursed illegally with campaign funds. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 9 Mar. 2024 Solutions Designed For Context: Interventions should help address the structural problems within society—such as physiological, social and legal constraints—that impact your unique workforce. Kiko Campos, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024 But families who sued the solution manufacturer could pursue new legal avenues, including wrongful death suits in the wake of that ruling – especially in Alabama. Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY, 27 Feb. 2024
Noun
The attempt to make the illicit legal against its own definition, by redefining it in more acceptable terms, is narrative violence. A.d. Carson, Spin, 26 Aug. 2023 The Justice Department has challenged Purdue’s deal with members of the Sackler family—and the popular legal... Akiko Matsuda, WSJ, 11 Aug. 2023 Financing, production and distribution legal handled by Eugene Pikulin at 3B Law. Angelique Jackson, Variety, 24 Feb. 2023 Truthful information disseminated by the news media about matters of public importance carry the highest legal of protection under the First Amendment. Erik Wemple, Washington Post, 21 June 2022 As a result, guns are banned in the area, even by those who have legal concealed carry permits. Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner, 16 Jan. 2020 Many of Florida’s marijuana dispensaries were not ready when Gov. Ron DeSantis made smokable medical marijuana legal in March. Marcia Heroux Pounds, sun-sentinel.com, 2 Dec. 2019 At the very end of the show, rapper Rico Nasty strutted out with a should-be-legal rolled piece of paper between her fingers. Nicole Phelps, Vogue, 12 Mar. 2019 American Media agreed to give Ms. McDougal back the rights to her story as part of an April legal settlement, but the company insisted that the Men’s Journal cover go forward as planned. WSJ, 27 June 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'legal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Noun

Anglo-French, from Latin legalis, from leg-, lex law

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

1923, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of legal was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near legal

Cite this Entry

“Legal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legal. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

legal

adjective
le·​gal
ˈlē-gəl
1
: of or relating to law or lawyers
2
: based on law
a legal right
3
: permitted by law or established rules
legally
-gə-lē
adverb

Legal Definition

legal

adjective
le·​gal ˈlē-gəl How to pronounce legal (audio)
1
: of or relating to law or the processes of law
a legal question
take legal action
2
a
: deriving authority from or founded on law
a legal tariff rate
a legal government
b
: fulfilling the requirements of law
a legal voter
c
: having a status derived from law : recognized as such by law
a legal certainty
d
: created by operation of especially statutory law
legal incompetence
a legal presumption
compare conventional sense 1, judicial sense 2
e
: established by law
the legal test for mental capacity
3
: conforming to or permitted by law : lawful
a referendum to make gambling legal
4
: recognized or made effective under principles of law as distinguished from principles of equity : deriving from or existing or valid in law as distinguished from equity see also equity compare equitable
5
a
: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of the profession of law or one of its members
a corporate legal department
the legal community
b
: of or relating to the study of law
continuing legal education
legally adverb
Etymology

Adjective

Latin legalis, from leg- lex law

More from Merriam-Webster on legal

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