lawyer

[ law-yer, loi-er ]
See synonyms for: lawyerlawyers on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a person whose profession is to represent clients in a court of law or to advise or act for clients in other legal matters.

  2. New Testament. an interpreter of the Mosaic Law. Luke 14:3.

verb (used without object)
  1. to work as a lawyer; practice law.

verb (used with object)
  1. to submit (a case, document, or the like) to a lawyer for examination, advice, clarification, etc.

Verb Phrases
  1. lawyer up, Informal. to hire a lawyer, especially when there is a perceived risk of being sued or charged with a crime: It’s time to lawyer up to protect yourself and your family.

Origin of lawyer

1
First recorded in 1350–1400, lawyer is from the Middle English word lawyere. See law1, -ier1

Other words from lawyer

  • law·yer·like, law·yer·ly, adjective
  • de·law·yer, verb (used with object)
  • non·law·yer, noun
  • un·der·law·yer, noun
  • un·law·yer·like, adjective
  • un·law·yer·ly, adjective

Words Nearby lawyer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use lawyer in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for lawyer

lawyer

/ (ˈlɔːjə, ˈlɔɪə) /


noun
  1. a member of the legal profession, esp a solicitor: See also advocate, barrister, solicitor

  2. a popular name for burbot

Origin of lawyer

1
C14: from law 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012