lawyer
Americannoun
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a person whose profession is to represent clients in a court of law or to advise or act for clients in other legal matters.
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New Testament. an interpreter of the Mosaic Law. Luke 14:3.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb phrase
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonlawyernoun
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underlawyernoun
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delawyerverb (used with object)
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lawyerlikeadjective
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lawyerlyadjective
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unlawyerlikeadjective
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unlawyerlyadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of lawyer
First recorded in 1350–1400, lawyer is from the Middle English word lawyere. See law 1, -ier 1
Explanation
A lawyer is a professional who is qualified to offer advice about the law or represent someone in legal matters. A lawyer can also be called an attorney, a solicitor, a counselor, a barrister, or — pejoratively — an ambulance chaser. A lawyer can handle all sorts of legal matters from drafting wills to patent claims to defending people against criminal charges. Qualified lawyers have to attend law school and pass a bar exam in order to practice law. Lawyer, of course, means one who practices the law. "Law" itself comes from the Old Norse root word lag, which means something laid down or fixed.
Vocabulary lists containing lawyer
"The Civil Rights Movement"
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"Growing Together" and "When I Grow Up"
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Legal Lingo, List 1
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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 lawyer had been concerned about his relationships with women, he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
FBI agents executed warrants across Southern California on Tuesday and searched the homes or offices of a San Bernardino County supervisor, an Ontario City Council member, a lawyer and a media company.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
As a thought experiment, imagine only one person had a superintelligent lawyer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
His lawyer has said he will challenge "the lawfulness and fairness of the decision".
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
From a new hiding place, he spoke by phone to Charlie Nesson, a lawyer he’d hired before going underground.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
Commonly used by journalists, lawyers, academics and advocacy groups such as the ACLU, public information can be requested by anyone under the California Public Records Act.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Her lawyers said she was initiating legal action to uncover the identity of the hackers.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Election lawyers told the newsrooms that it is unlikely Paxton could make such an argument given his ongoing public and acrimonious divorce.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
Beijing wants to tighten control over capital flows while widening the channels for money to leave the country, according to economists and lawyers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Felix had been so mad about the money and the lawyers.
From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty
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.
