adjective
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of, relating to, or having the nature of a statute
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prescribed or authorized by statute
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recognized by statute
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subject to a punishment or penalty prescribed by statute
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Other Word Forms
- nonstatutory adjective
- statutorily adverb
Etymology
Origin of statutory
Explanation
If something is statutory, it is related to or set by laws or statutes. Statutory restrictions on air pollution require drivers to have the emissions from their cars checked every few years. You might wonder what the difference is between statutory and legal. Both are adjectives and both are concerned with the law. If something is legal, it is allowed by the law, whereas if it is statutory, it is regulated by law. In the negative, this is easier to understand. If something is not legal, the law says you can't do it. If something is not statutory, there are no laws regulating it.
Vocabulary lists containing statutory
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
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100 SAT words Beginning with "S"
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Just Mercy
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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.
Scottish councils have a statutory duty to find housing for anyone who is "unintentionally homeless", which can take priority over those waiting for permanent accommodation.
From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026
“Underlying all of this is the fact that U.S. sanctions, both from an executive-order perspective and also from a statutory perspective, would seemingly prohibit this type of arrangement.”
From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026
The UK government has been under pressure to bring in a statutory ban of smartphones in schools, although recent research suggested strict bans were not a "silver bullet".
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026
If football games are put behind subscription paywalls, “these arrangements may no longer align with the statutory concept of sponsored telecasting or the consumer-access rationale underlying the antitrust exemption.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
At thirty-five he had just been unwillingly evicted from the Youth League, and before graduating into the Youth League he had managed to stay on in the Spies for a year beyond the statutory age.
From "1984" by George Orwell
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.
