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common law
common lawnounthe system of law originating in England, as distinct from the civil or Roman law and the canon or ecclesiastical law.
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common-law
common-lawadjectiveof, relating to, or established by common law.
common law
1 Americannoun
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the system of law originating in England, as distinct from the civil or Roman law and the canon or ecclesiastical law.
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the unwritten law, especially of England, based on custom or court decision, as distinct from statute law.
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the law administered through the system of courts established for the purpose, as distinct from equity or admiralty.
adjective
noun
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the body of law based on judicial decisions and custom, as distinct from statute law
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the law of a state that is of general application, as distinct from regional customs
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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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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
Etymology
Origin of common law1
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50
Origin of common-law2
First recorded in 1905–10
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:
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
The Rosses say that breach of guest workers’ contracts—which DOL is seeking to enforce with penalties—is a common law claim that belongs in federal court.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
It can be traced to English common law, which imposed a duty on parents to prevent foreseeable damage or harm done by their children.
From Slate ● Mar. 5, 2026
Under common law, liability for “aiding and abetting” is reserved for parties that consciously induce or assist wrongdoing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025
The English had the common law, which relied on the jury system.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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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
As the Supreme Court has held repeatedly since federal pollution-control statutes displaced federal common-law claims, such disputes may proceed unless they are expressly pre-empted by or otherwise in conflict with federal law.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2025
Paxton’s office, in an explanation of the common-law privacy exception on its website, mentions that “personal financial information” that doesn’t deal with government transactions “is generally highly intimate or embarrassing and must be withheld.”
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2025
To counterbalance the effect of these new political allies, the authorities also put a handful of common-law prisoners in our section.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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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.