lex
noun
law.
lex
1 American
[leks]
/ lɛks /
noun
leges
plural
lex.
2
American
abbreviation
-
lexical.
-
lexicon.
lex
British
/ lɛks /
noun
-
a system or body of laws
-
a particular specified law
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lex
First recorded in 1490–1500, lex is from the Latin word lēx
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 told AFP Babis most probably complied with the Czech conflict of interest law, dubbed "lex Babis".
From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 2026
Russert may be right that this is the law, but in the immortal words of St. Augustine, lex iniusta non est lexas—”an unjust law is no law at all.”
From Slate ● Mar. 4, 2021
But dura lex, sed lex — the law is hard, but it is the law — and the law in California forbade slavery.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2021
Salus populi suprema lex, he reminds us: public health must be the highest law.
From Nature ● Oct. 14, 2019
A foedus is a league, or compact, but it is often used as synonymous with lex, and Renaissance commentators on Lucretius interpreted him as talking about the laws of nature.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
There is an old Latin phrase, inter arma enim silent leges, which roughly translates as "in time of war, the Constitution is silent."
From Time ● Jun. 23, 2011
The project will include 17 major buildings housing a medical center, a 4 million-volume library and seven col leges where Saudis will study disciplines ranging from dentistry and engineering to agriculture and marketing.
From Time Magazine Archive
Tucked away in western Massachusetts are four of the better U.S. col leges: Smith, Mount Holyoke, Amherst and the University of Massachusetts.
From Time Magazine Archive
Office of Education reported that enrollments in U.S. schools and col leges, both public and private, have gone up again for the eleventh straight year.
From Time Magazine Archive
And this upon the general principle laid down in the last section, that "leges posteriores priores contrarias abrogant."
From Commentaries on the Laws of England Book the First by Blackstone, William, Sir
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.
