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• law and order
  law and order

  noun

  strict control of crime and repression of violence, sometimes involving the possible restriction of civil rights.
• law-and-order
  law-and-order

  noun

  (modifier) favouring or advocating strong measures to suppress crime and violence

law and order

American  

noun

1. strict control of crime and repression of violence, sometimes involving the possible restriction of civil rights.

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law-and-order British  

noun

1. (modifier) favouring or advocating strong measures to suppress crime and violence

   a law-and-order candidate

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law and order Idioms  

1. Strict enforcement of laws, especially for controlling crime. For example, Our candidate is always talking about law and order. The concept behind this term was stated by Aristotle. Today, however, it also carries the implication of infringing on civil rights in the course of too arduous law enforcement. [Late 1500s]

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Etymology

Origin of law and order

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

law and order law-and-order

Here are the legal personalities keeping law and order in the Oakland, Calif., courthouse:

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026

The GOP, led by Ronald Reagan, found success throughout the 1980s by focusing on law and order.

From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2026

“In his new role as acting attorney general, Todd will continue to be a tireless advocate for sanity, law and order, and policies that keep Americans safe.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026

Also a former justice minister, Dati wants to boost law and order by giving weapons to municipal police officers and increasing video surveillance.

From Barron's ● Mar. 15, 2026

But Habib had been set on returning, convinced that refugees like Amin and Nilufer would return once the Taliban brought law and order.

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai

Rodriguez worries that Kast’s law-and-order hard line could upset the fragile peace that miners have established with indigenous peoples around their mines.

From Barron's ● Dec. 17, 2025

These three candidates - New York state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, Virginia's law-and-order moderate Abigail Spanberger and New Jersey congresswoman Mikie Sherrill - each ran a different race.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2025

PARIS—Former President Nicolas Sarkozy began a five-year prison sentence on Tuesday, marking an unprecedented downfall for a French ex-head of state who rose to power as a political outsider with blunt law-and-order rhetoric.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025

Former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman, who ran a law-and-order campaign against incumbent Dist.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2024

It was the first law-and-order assignment he’d been part of since he had arrived.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

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