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:
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
Several private schools in Ohio and Virginia permit paddling as discipline even though those states outlaw corporal punishment in public schools.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
Constitutional law was reshaped by the campaign to outlaw segregation, by the campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment, and by the campaign for constitutionally protected same-sex marriage.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
It underlines the scale of the task facing Chelsea, with Fifa having also moved to outlaw so-called "bomb squads" this summer.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
This appearance of a second outlaw seemed to overwhelm Professor McGonagall, who staggered backward and fell into a nearby chair, clutching at the neck of her old tartan dressing gown.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
The new phase comes as the cryptocurrency company Tether and its eponymous token, once maligned as the stablecoin choice of outlaws, seek to gain acceptance in the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026
The Deterrence unit later claimed responsibility for another operation in Rafah on Tuesday, announcing the arrest of "hundreds of outlaws" linked to Abu Shabab's and Heles's factions.
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2025
In a sense, they are outlaws bound by their life on the run, and their love is more powerful than any distance.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2025
Ministers are planning to scrap the Vagrancy Act, which outlaws rough sleeping in England and Wales.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2025
“Ironmen from the isles, wildlings from beyond the Wall... and now this traitor lord with his outlaws, rebels, and sorcerers.”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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
He was open about being gay, even when homosexuality was outlawed in Britain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
America outlawed slavery and Jim Crow, expanded the voting franchise, and banned forced sterilization.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
California became the first state to follow in the footsteps of the European Union, which outlawed the additives between 1990 and 2008.
From Salon ● Apr. 11, 2026
Gill nets were outlawed years ago in Florida because they kill everything that gets tangled, not just the baitfish but sharks, reds, snook, tarpon, turtles—you name it, it dies.
From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen
California led the nation in 2020, outlawing a debt collection practice that sometimes kept low-income college students from getting jobs or advanced degrees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2025
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
Fewer bottled waters or coffees now offer "carbon neutral" guarantees ahead of an EU directive outlawing them from 2026.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2025
"Her position was completely untenable given she was going to be required to defend the government's legislation outlawing practices she herself had recently engaged in," said director Tom Darling.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2025
Certainly, outlawing barbaric punishments was evidence of progress in penal practice, and perhaps of progress in American civilization as well.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
