outlaw
Americannoun
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outlaws
plural
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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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outlaws,
present (3rd person singular)
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outlawed,
past participle, past
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outlawing
present participle
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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
-
were outlawingprogressive
-
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.
See Examples For:
Metallica, the biggest band in metal, thrives in that tension between the genre’s outrageous grandeur, grimy nihilism and outlaw camaraderie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
Police were given powers allowing them to outlaw the use of masks to conceal identities during protests under a law passed last year.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
The Chinese models would be particularly difficult to outlaw because most of them are open-weight models, which means that Americans can download the model weights for free and host them on their own servers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Burnham is also planning to outlaw shops using fake "was" prices, which he said trick shoppers into thinking they are getting better value on purchases.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
The outlaw jumped back, then saw she was tied and said, “And who is this ferocious-looking character?”
From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
“To those violent outlaws, I have a clear message: your time is up,” he said in a recent speech.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
The designation, humanitarians say, in effect outlaws aid deliveries to areas under Houthi control, where 70% of the population resides.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026
"Our message is clear: There will be no place for outlaws or those who threaten the security of citizens," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2025
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlaws racial discrimination in voting.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2025
“Good-bye,” cried all the outlaws, waving their bows.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Most of these factories use inedible offcuts from fishing because nearly every U.S. state has outlawed the targeting of whole fish for fishmeal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
While I wait for my outlawed tires to be mounted, I’ll find a slot machine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
Whitby began a long and profitable history with whaling during the 18th Century and despite the controversial practice being outlawed in 1986 to protect the species, the arch remains popular with both visitors and locals.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Vigilantes and unaffiliated heroes are outlawed, and a few superheroes that haven’t retired go to work for the government.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2019
But I think maybe it’s not words that need to be outlawed.
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
Earlier this year, a court labelled the group "extremist", making its supporters subject to prosecution and effectively outlawing any cooperation with it.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
Legal experts say the latest ruling is different, functionally outlawing cash bail in most cases, and strictly capping the amount in others.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
At times, the panic it induced in opposition defences - who were still getting to grips with 2024 law tweaks outlawing deliberate blocking of chasers - was even relished.
From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2026
The next town over, Pittsfield, passed a bylaw outlawing baseball to protect the windows of its meetinghouse—all the way back in 1791.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025
Making soup illegal, outlawing rats, these things soothed the poor kings heart.
From "The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread" by Kate DiCamillo
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.
