scofflaw
Americannoun
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a person who flouts the law, especially one who fails to pay fines owed.
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a person who flouts rules, conventions, or accepted practices.
noun
Etymology
Origin of scofflaw
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.
“I’ve been cast as both a scofflaw and a hero. I am neither. I am a public servant who was just trying to do my job,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
During the Biden era, the agency received a multibillion-dollar budget boost to increase enforcement of tax payments by corporations and scofflaw taxpayers.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 5, 2026
In 2015, an infamously scofflaw fleet of more than 70 bottom trawlers from Thailand fished in the Saya de Malha Bank.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2025
“Under Musk’s control, Twitter has become a scofflaw, stiffing employees, landlords, vendors, and others,” says the lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Northern District of California.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2024
In all truth, these talented, hardworking, law-abiding, mature, adult people are far more disturbing to the peace and order of the current status quo than any scofflaw group of romantic teenage punk kids.
From The Hacker Crackdown, law and disorder on the electronic frontier by Sterling, Bruce
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.
