outlaw
Americannoun
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a lawless person or habitual criminal, especially one who is a fugitive from the law.
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a person, group, or thing excluded from the benefits and protection of the law.
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a person under sentence of outlawry.
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a person who refuses to be governed by the established rules or practices of any group; rebel; nonconformist.
one of the outlaws of country music.
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Chiefly Western U.S.
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a horse that cannot be broken; a mean, intractable horse.
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any rogue animal.
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verb (used with object)
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to make unlawful or illegal.
The Eighteenth Amendment outlawed the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating beverages in the U.S.
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to deprive of the benefits and protection of the law.
Members of guerrilla bands who refused to surrender were outlawed.
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to prohibit.
to outlaw smoking in a theater.
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to remove from legal jurisdiction; deprive of legal force.
adjective
noun
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(formerly) a person excluded from the law and deprived of its protection
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any fugitive from the law, esp a habitual transgressor
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a wild or untamed beast
verb
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to put (a person) outside the law and deprive of its protection
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(in the US) to deprive (a contract) of legal force
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to ban
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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outlawsimple
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outlawssimple
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have outlawedperfect
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has outlawedperfect
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am outlawingprogressive
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are outlawingprogressive
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is outlawingprogressive
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have been outlawingperfect progressive
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has been outlawingperfect progressive
Past
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outlawedsimple
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had outlawedperfect
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was outlawingprogressive
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were outlawingprogressive
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had been outlawingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of outlaw
before 1150; Middle English outlawe, Old English ūtlaga < Old Norse ūtlagi one outside the protection of the law; see out, law 1
Explanation
An outlaw is a criminal who's on the run. Historically, the word outlaw was used for Western criminals like Billy the Kid or Jesse James, not so much for contemporary drug lords or serial killers. Because they didn't need to be arrested by a police officer or other official, pursuing outlaws was once a way to earn reward money. The outlaw figure became popular due to the almost romantic image of nonconformity they had — outlaws are common characters in Western books and movies. You can also use outlaw to mean "ban or make illegal." If you had your way, you might outlaw spinach, long lines, and stinky perfume.
Vocabulary lists containing outlaw
Words Every Pirate Should Know
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Novel Study: Hoot, Chapters 1–8
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Across So Many Seas
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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.
Teachers should definitely retain the right to limit or even outlaw AI in the classroom.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 9, 2026
The two protagonists, Jason and Lucia, appear at least loosely inspired by the real-life American outlaw couple Bonnie and Clyde, who have already been the stuff of movies and TV series.
From Barron's • Jun. 24, 2026
The straightforward intent of Title VII was to outlaw racial discrimination in the labor force, where blacks were being kept out of jobs and denied promotions.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026
Legend has it that the outlaw Robin Hood used the Major Oak's hollow trunk - which in fact was caused by fungi - as his hideout.
From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026
Some state legislators from northern Virginia’s affluent suburbs have argued that this is a form of geographic discrimination and have quixotically proposed bills to outlaw it.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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.
