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• common law
  common law

  noun

  the system of law originating in England, as distinct from the civil or Roman law and the canon or ecclesiastical law.
• common-law
  common-law

  adjective

  of, relating to, or established by common law.

common law

¹ American  

[kom-uhn law] / ˈkɒm ən ˈlɔ /

noun

common laws plural

1. the system of law originating in England, as distinct from the civil or Roman law and the canon or ecclesiastical law.

2. the unwritten law, especially of England, based on custom or court decision, as distinct from statute law.

3. the law administered through the system of courts established for the purpose, as distinct from equity or admiralty.

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common-law ² American  

[kom-uhn-law] / ˈkɒm ənˈlɔ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or established by common law.

   a common-law spouse.

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common law British  

noun

1. the body of law based on judicial decisions and custom, as distinct from statute law

2. the law of a state that is of general application, as distinct from regional customs

3.  common-law.  (modifier) denoting a marriage deemed to exist after a couple have cohabited for several years

   common-law marriage

   common-law wife

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common law Cultural  

1. Law developed in the course of time from the rulings of judges, as opposed to law embodied in statutes passed by legislatures (statutory law) or law embodied in a written constitution (constitutional law). (See stare decisis.)

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The importance of common law is particularly stressed in the legal system of Britain, on which the legal system of the United States is based.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• common laws
  plural

Etymology

Origin of common law¹

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50

Origin of common-law²

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

common law common-law

Chief Justice John Roberts stressed in the Jarkesy majority opinion that government penalties “designed to punish or deter the wrongdoer” are a “prototypical common law remedy.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026

He also said he understood he had "common law employment rights", adding "this will be better understood by lawyers than by me".

From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2026

When it came to creating this new government, rebelling against and pushing back against restrictions we had experienced under English common law, press freedom was seen to be essential.

From Slate ● Feb. 24, 2026

The English jurist’s “History of the Pleas of the Crown,” published posthumously in 1736, influenced the development of common law in England, the British colonies and, eventually, the United States.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026

Congress had moved gradual emancipation off its political agenda; its decision in the spring of 1790 became a precedent with the force of common law.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

The majority’s decision in Barbara recounts how before the 14th Amendment’s ratification, Americans followed the long-standing common-law rule making persons born on American soil citizens by birth.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

Wong Kim Ark is well-reasoned and adheres to a centuries-old common-law tradition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

Many people wrongly believe co-habiting couples have automatic legal and inheritance rights under "common-law marriage", says Alastair Sinclair, family lawyer at Setfords.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

She then was transferred to Pretrial Detention Centre Number 5 in Donetsk, where she shared a small, filthy cell with around 20 common-law prisoners.

From Barron's ● May 8, 2026

Every Sunday, I would supply vegetables to the kitchen so that they could cook a special meal for the common-law prisoners.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela