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
-
have been outlawingperfect progressive
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has been outlawingperfect progressive
Past
-
outlawedsimple
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had outlawedperfect
-
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
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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:
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 title track, a crisp countrified number on which Mr. Amos’s father sits in on banjo, is an outlaw tale of remarkable compression, spinning a detailed yarn in just 2 1/2 minutes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
The Death of Robin Hood is based on a 17th Century ballad of the outlaw, starring Hugh Jackman as the reflective, battle-weary titular character at the end of his life.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 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
"Don't run me out of patience!" warned the huge outlaw.
From "The Whipping Boy" by Sid Fleischman
“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
"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
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
The outlaws were pleased with their success, and less careful than they should have been.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Swinney used his programme for government speech to say he would ensure "harassment and abuse based on misogyny is outlawed".
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 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
He was open about being gay, even when homosexuality was outlawed in Britain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 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
It's hard to love a place that's outlawed smoking but finds it perfectly acceptable to serve raw fish in a bath of chocolate.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Other European cities have moved to ban rental e-scooters in recent years, with Madrid outlawing them in 2024 and Brussels announcing it will follow suit in June.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 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
The overturned regulation outlawing states of emergency dates back to social unrest in 2019 which killed 36 people and led to the resignation of then socialist leader Evo Morales.
From Barron's ● May 27, 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
The nineteenth-century prescriptivist Richard White had no luck banning standpoint and washtub, nor did his contemporary William Cullen Bryant succeed in outlawing commence, compete, lengthy, and leniency.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
