scofflaw
scoff·law/ˈskɔfˌlɔ/noun
scofflaw is spelled S-C-O-F-F-L-A-W: 8 letters and 2 syllables (scoff·law). It appears about once in every 31 million words in written English, the 169,822nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, scofflaw means “a criminal or lawbreaker, especially one who is openly contemptuous or dismissive of current laws or displays conspicuous or outward disrespect…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of scofflaw is scofflaws.
How many letters and syllables are in scofflaw?
| Letters | 8: S-C-O-F-F-L-A-W |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: scoff·law |
| In writing | about once in every 31 million words; the 169,822nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is scofflaw?
Scofflaw appears about once in every 31 million words in written English, the 169,822nd 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 scofflaw?
- US /ˈskɔfˌlɔ/
- US /ˈskɒfˌlɔ/
Scofflaw has 2 syllables, split scoff·law in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-scofflaw.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of scofflaw
- scofflaws plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does scofflaw mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
a criminal or lawbreaker, especially one who is openly contemptuous or dismissive of current laws or displays conspicuous or outward disrespect, distain, or disregard for the law
- 2
USOne who habitually violates minor laws or fails to answer trivial court summonses (such as parking tickets).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does scofflaw come from?
From scoff + law. Coined simultaneously by Mr Henry Irving Dale and Miss Kate L. Butler for a contest held in Boston in 1923 in which a word for "a lawless drinker of illegally made or illegally obtained liquor" was sought during the Prohibition era.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).