outlaw
Americannoun
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outlaws
plural
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a lawless person or habitual criminal, especially one who is a fugitive from the law.
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a person, group, or thing excluded from the benefits and protection of the law.
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a person under sentence of outlawry.
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a person who refuses to be governed by the established rules or practices of any group; rebel; nonconformist.
one of the outlaws of country music.
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Chiefly Western U.S.
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a horse that cannot be broken; a mean, intractable horse.
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any rogue animal.
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verb (used with object)
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outlaws,
present (3rd person singular)
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outlawed,
past participle, past
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outlawing
present participle
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to make unlawful or illegal.
The Eighteenth Amendment outlawed the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating beverages in the U.S.
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to deprive of the benefits and protection of the law.
Members of guerrilla bands who refused to surrender were outlawed.
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to prohibit.
to outlaw smoking in a theater.
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to remove from legal jurisdiction; deprive of legal force.
adjective
noun
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(formerly) a person excluded from the law and deprived of its protection
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any fugitive from the law, esp a habitual transgressor
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a wild or untamed beast
verb
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to put (a person) outside the law and deprive of its protection
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(in the US) to deprive (a contract) of legal force
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to ban
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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outlawsimple
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outlawssimple
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have outlawedperfect
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has outlawedperfect
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am outlawingprogressive
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are outlawingprogressive
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is outlawingprogressive
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have been outlawingperfect progressive
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has been outlawingperfect progressive
Past
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outlawedsimple
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had outlawedperfect
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was outlawingprogressive
-
were outlawingprogressive
-
had been outlawingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of outlaw
before 1150; Middle English outlawe, Old English ūtlaga < Old Norse ūtlagi one outside the protection of the law; see out, law 1
Explanation
An outlaw is a criminal who's on the run. Historically, the word outlaw was used for Western criminals like Billy the Kid or Jesse James, not so much for contemporary drug lords or serial killers. Because they didn't need to be arrested by a police officer or other official, pursuing outlaws was once a way to earn reward money. The outlaw figure became popular due to the almost romantic image of nonconformity they had — outlaws are common characters in Western books and movies. You can also use outlaw to mean "ban or make illegal." If you had your way, you might outlaw spinach, long lines, and stinky perfume.
Vocabulary lists containing outlaw
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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.
See Examples For:
Police were given powers allowing them to outlaw the use of masks to conceal identities during protests under a law passed last year.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
Several private schools in Ohio and Virginia permit paddling as discipline even though those states outlaw corporal punishment in public schools.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
Teachers should definitely retain the right to limit or even outlaw AI in the classroom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
While Indonesia has numerous laws that protect children and outlaw trafficking, the lack of consistent enforcement is still an issue, Kriswanto added.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
I was taken back to Sassinoth and imprisoned, because I had been in the company of an outlaw, and probably because they did not know what else to do with me.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Robert Redford became a bankable leading man in 1969, when “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” about a pair of outlaws on the lam, turned him into a paragon of the movie star.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
"Our message is clear: There will be no place for outlaws or those who threaten the security of citizens," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2025
Playing outlaws on the run, cornered men whose time had passed, bickering and bantering like an old married couple who can’t imagine a life without each other, they’re perfect together.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2025
In a sense, they are outlaws bound by their life on the run, and their love is more powerful than any distance.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2025
Gone, too, are the outlaws, many of whom died as spectacularly as they lived.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Most of these factories use inedible offcuts from fishing because nearly every U.S. state has outlawed the targeting of whole fish for fishmeal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Rabin had condemned the massacre, and Israel had outlawed the Kahanist organizations by the time of the press conference, less than three weeks later.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
That led the EFL to introduce regulation 127, which outlawed any attempt to observe an opponent in the 72 hours before they played each other.
From BBC ● May 20, 2026
Vigilantes and unaffiliated heroes are outlawed, and a few superheroes that haven’t retired go to work for the government.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2019
Would he be arrested, or would he simply be outlawed from the wizarding world?
From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling
Earlier this year, a court labelled the group "extremist", making its supporters subject to prosecution and effectively outlawing any cooperation with it.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
He fell foul of the EFL's rule outlawing watching opponents train within 72 hours of a match.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
Legal experts say the latest ruling is different, functionally outlawing cash bail in most cases, and strictly capping the amount in others.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
The next town over, Pittsfield, passed a bylaw outlawing baseball to protect the windows of its meetinghouse—all the way back in 1791.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025
Certainly, outlawing barbaric punishments was evidence of progress in penal practice, and perhaps of progress in American civilization as well.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
