bylaw
Americannoun
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a standing rule governing the regulation of a corporation's or society's internal affairs.
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a subsidiary law.
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British. an ordinance of a municipality or community.
noun
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a rule made by a local authority for the regulation of its affairs or management of the area it governs
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a regulation of a company, society, etc
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a subsidiary law
Etymology
Origin of bylaw
First recorded in 1325–75; by- + law 1; replacing Middle English bilawe, equivalent to by “town” (from Scandinavian; compare Danish by ) + lawe “law”
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.
Though a town body approved the expansion last March, a Nantucket bylaw requires residents to approve use of town-owned land for erosion-control projects at the annual Town Meeting.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
It comes as part of new amendments to a bylaw under the NSL that the government gazetted on Monday.
From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026
CIF Executive Director Ron Nocetti said schools have failed to change or get rid of bylaw 600, because it effects all sports and would create additional issues.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 3, 2025
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
It breaks every bylaw but this school has always been antiquated.
From "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by J.K. Rowling
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.
