law
/lɔː/noun, verb, interjection
law is spelled L-A-W: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 288 times per million words in written English, the 329th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, law means “The body of binding rules and regulations, customs, and standards established in a community by its legislative and judicial authorities” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of law is laws.
How many letters and syllables are in law?
| Letters | 3: L-A-W |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 288 times per million words; the 329th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is law?
Law appears 288 times per million words in written English, the 329th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce law?
- UK /lɔː/
- /laː/
- British /loː/
Law has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-law.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-law.wav, En-us-law.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with law
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: lore (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with law?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as law from its last stressed vowel (/ɔ/, British pronunciation):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: awl, lwa.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of law
- laws plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- lawing participle, present
- lawed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does law mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The body of binding rules and regulations, customs, and standards established in a community by its legislative and judicial authorities.
The courts interpret the law but should not make it.
- 2
The body of such rules that pertain to a particular topic.
property law
- 3
Common law, as contrasted with equity.
- 4
A binding regulation or custom established in a community in this way.
There is a law against importing wallabies.
- 5
Any rule that must or should be obeyed, concerning behaviours and their consequences. (Compare mores.)
"Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you" is a good law to follow.
- 6
A rule or principle regarding the construction of language or art.
the laws of playwriting and poetry
- 7
A statement (in physics, etc) of an (observed, established) order or sequence or relationship of phenomena which is invariable under certain conditions. (Compare theory.)
the laws of thermodynamics
- 8
A statement (of relation) that is true under specified conditions; a mathematical or logical rule.
Mathematical laws can be proved purely through mathematics, without scientific experimentation.
- 9
obsoleteA tumulus of stones.
- 10
ScotlandarchaicA hill.
- 11
obsoleteA score; share of expense; legal charge.
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo work as a lawyer; to practice law.
- 2
To prosecute or sue (someone), to litigate.
Your husband's … so given to lawing, they say. I doubt he'll leave you poorly off when he dies.
- 3
nonstandardTo rule over (with a certain effect) by law; to govern.
- 4
informalTo enforce the law.
- 5
To subject to legal restrictions.
noun
- 1
Acronym of light anti-tank weapon.
interjection
- 1
datedAn exclamation of mild surprise; lawks; in interjections, a minced oath for Lord.
‘Do tell me once for all, whether you intend to marry Mr Watts or not?’ ‘Law Mama, how can I tell you what I don't know myself?’
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Law in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | loi, droit , théorème |
| German | Gesetz, Recht |
| Portuguese | lei, direito |
| Spanish | ley, derecho |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does law come from?
From Middle English lawe, laȝe, from Old English lagu (“law”), borrowed from Old Norse lǫg (“law”, literally “things laid down or firmly established”), originally the plural of lag (“layer, stratum, a laying in order, measure, stroke”), from Proto-Germanic *lagą (“that which is laid down”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).