lawyer

[ law-yer, loi-er ]

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 phrase

1. 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.

lawyer

/ ˈlɔːjə; ˈlɔɪə /

noun

1. See solicitor, barrister, advocate
   a member of the legal profession, esp a solicitor See also advocate barrister solicitor
2. See burbot
   a popular name for burbot

Other Words From

• 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of lawyer¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of lawyer¹

C14: from law ¹

Example Sentences

At least one other woman was deported after a guard assaulted her, detainees told lawyers.

From ProPublica

Pop by their booth or sign up here to reserve some time with one of their industry-renowned startup lawyers.

From TechCrunch

Facebook is firing up its lawyers to try to block EU regulators from forcing it to suspend transatlantic data transfers in the wake of a landmark ruling by Europe’s top court this summer.

From TechCrunch

He paid $193 for the ticket, not counting $35 more in fees, according to emails exchanged between him and his lawyer at the time.

From Voice of San Diego

The investigation, which has been underway for more than a year, was revealed publicly in a recent Intuit filing in which the company’s lawyers appealed to the commission to limit the scope of its investigation.

From ProPublica

He first rose to prominence as a lawyer in Queens, who settled a boiling racial dispute over public housing in Forest Hills.

From The Daily Beast

Sabrine is a trained lawyer, likely a helpful quality when your task is to push politicians.

From The Daily Beast

As the director of Freedom Now, I hold Intigam Aliyev in high esteem and have long respected his work as a human-rights lawyer.

From The Daily Beast

His court-appointed lawyer was drinking a quart of liquor per day.

From The Daily Beast

“At worst, Eric picked up a garbage can, was told by police to put it down, and did,” his lawyer, Martin Stoler, insisted.

From The Daily Beast

The sharpened faculties have something of a lawyer's quickness in detecting a flaw in the indictment.

From Project Gutenberg

Sebastian Brandt died; counsellor of Strassburg, a lawyer, and author of a curious poem.

From Project Gutenberg

But a lawyer who needed the wherewithal finally condescended to risk the task, and into it he plunged.

From Project Gutenberg

"Fortunate," the Reverend repeated, thoughtfully, and looking up found the lawyer's eyes upon him.

From Project Gutenberg

If a client goes to a lawyer for advice the first thing the lawyer asks him to do is to make a clean breast of it.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• advocate
• counselor