martial law

American  

noun

• martial laws
  plural

1. the law temporarily imposed upon an area by state or national military forces when civil authority has broken down or during wartime military operations.

2. the law imposed upon a defeated country or occupied territory by the military forces of the occupying power.

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martial law British  

noun

1. the rule of law established and maintained by the military in the absence of civil law

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Usage

What is martial law? Martial law is when a state is put under control of the military, usually temporarily and as a result of an emergency or crisis that has broken down the usual civil authority and order. How is martial law pronounced?[ mahr-shuhl law ]

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• martial laws
  plural

Etymology

Origin of martial law

First recorded in 1525–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

martial law

During his school years, under martial law in the 1970s and ’80s, Lin and others of his generation were taught to identify themselves as Chinese.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

"I am a retired soldier. I lived through the martial law periods of General Zia-ul-Haq and General Pervez Musharraf," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

They swept to victory last June, after the disgraced former president, Yoon Suk Yeol, was impeached for a bizarre six-hour attempt to declare martial law.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026

But martial law lasted only about six hours as lawmakers raced to the assembly building and voted it down in an emergency session.

From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026

“They’ve declared martial law all over the city,” he said, wide-eyed with fear.

From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep