lawyer
Americannoun
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a person whose profession is to represent clients in a court of law or to advise or act for clients in other legal matters.
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New Testament. an interpreter of the Mosaic Law. Luke 14:3.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb phrase
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonlawyernoun
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underlawyernoun
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lawyerlikeadjective
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lawyerlyadjective
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unlawyerlikeadjective
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unlawyerlyadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of lawyer
First recorded in 1350–1400, lawyer is from the Middle English word lawyere. See law 1, -ier 1
Explanation
A lawyer is a professional who is qualified to offer advice about the law or represent someone in legal matters. A lawyer can also be called an attorney, a solicitor, a counselor, a barrister, or — pejoratively — an ambulance chaser. A lawyer can handle all sorts of legal matters from drafting wills to patent claims to defending people against criminal charges. Qualified lawyers have to attend law school and pass a bar exam in order to practice law. Lawyer, of course, means one who practices the law. "Law" itself comes from the Old Norse root word lag, which means something laid down or fixed.
Vocabulary lists containing lawyer
"The Civil Rights Movement"
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"Growing Together" and "When I Grow Up"
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Legal Lingo, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Think of Michael Connelly — he’s Harry Bosch and the Lincoln Lawyer, Mickey Haller — who each will have another book coming soon.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026
Lawyer John Ray, who represents some of the victims' families, confirmed to the BBC that Heuermann is expected to plead guilty during a court appearance on Wednesday.
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026
Appeared in the March 28, 2026, print edition as 'The Lawyer Who Beat Meta and YouTube'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026
Lawyer Ghimire said he believed such a change was "inevitable", adding that the mere fact the issue was being debated made him "optimistic".
From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026
January 19 An Engineer, a Chef, a Vet, and Not a Lawyer Brother Quang has started night school to restudy engineering to become what he was meant to be.
From "Inside Out and Back Again" by Thanhha Lai
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
