law of nature
Britishnoun
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an empirical truth of great generality, conceived of as a physical (but not a logical) necessity, and consequently licensing counterfactual conditionals
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a system of morality conceived of as grounded in reason See natural law nomological
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See law 1
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.
A paper in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today describes "a missing law of nature," recognizing for the first time an important norm within the natural world's workings.
From Science Daily • Oct. 16, 2023
Similarly, maybe there’s no law of nature or principle of reality that guarantees humanity’s survival, but we just so happen to occupy a world in which human extinction isn’t something that will ever occur.
From Salon • Oct. 8, 2023
But there’s no law of nature requiring employers to oppose unions.
From Slate • Jun. 7, 2023
The test requires courts to determine if an invention involves an unpatentable abstract idea, natural phenomenon or law of nature - and if so, whether it includes an inventive concept.
From Reuters • May 30, 2023
Charles isn’t remembered for his aeronautic stunts, but for the law of nature that bears his name.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
