1
: of or relating to law
She has many legal problems.
2
3
: conforming to or permitted by law or established rules
The referee said it was a legal play.
Fishing in this lake is legal.
4
: recognized or made effective by a court of law as distinguished from a court of equity
5
: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of the profession of law or of one of its members
a bottle … that some legal friend had sent him—
J. G. Cozzens
J. G. Cozzens6
: created by the constructions of the law
A legal fiction is something assumed in law to be a fact regardless of the truth of that assumption.
: one that conforms to rules or the law
Synonyms
Examples of legal in a Sentence
Adjective
She has a lot of legal problems.
Do you know your legal rights?
The amount of alcohol in his blood exceeded the legal limit.
What you did was not legal.
“Is it legal to fish in this river?” “Yes, it's perfectly legal.”
The referee said it was a legal play.
See More
Recent Examples on the WebAmy Davidson Sorkin, The New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2023
After calling an executive session to discuss potential legal issues, the committee tabled the matter, without discussing its merits on Wednesday.
—Emily Goodykoontz, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Sep. 2023
Donald Trump likely is, and the four different legal matters where Donald Trump has been charged with 83 counts stand in stark contrast.
—Eden Villalovas, Washington Examiner, 10 Sep. 2023
Musk said in an X post that their youngest child’s name is Tau Techno Mechanicus, while Isaacson’s book states that the child’s legal name is Techno Mechanicus Musk and his nickname is Tau.
—Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2023
Richard Lehmann, a lawyer suing the district who is also the longtime legal counsel for Republicans in the state Senate, appeared at Wednesday’s event with Haley and Moms for Liberty.
—Emma Platoff, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Sep. 2023
Tristan Thompson, who became his younger brother Amari Thompson's primary caregiver after their mother Andrea's death in January, filed to become Amari's legal guardian.
—Nikki Dobrin, Peoplemag, 9 Sep. 2023
The discussion at the symposium will cover various aspects of AI in image creation, including legal implications, copyright issues, biases, and potential threats to the documentary value of photography.
—Photovogue, Vogue, 29 Aug. 2023
Some people posting to message boards on site likes Reddit and Blind in recent weeks discuss legal rights for employees who say they were hired 12 months earlier as a virtual employee and whether they can be forced to work in an office.
—Brian Fung, CNN, 29 Aug. 2023
A.d. Carson, Spin, 26 Aug. 2023
The Justice Department has challenged Purdue’s deal with members of the Sackler family—and the popular legal...
—Akiko Matsuda, WSJ, 11 Aug. 2023
Financing, production and distribution legal handled by Eugene Pikulin at 3B Law.
—Angelique Jackson, Variety, 24 Feb. 2023
Truthful information disseminated by the news media about matters of public importance carry the highest legal of protection under the First Amendment.
—Erik Wemple, Washington Post, 21 June 2022
As a result, guns are banned in the area, even by those who have legal concealed carry permits.
—Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner, 16 Jan. 2020
Many of Florida’s marijuana dispensaries were not ready when Gov. Ron DeSantis made smokable medical marijuana legal in March.
—Marcia Heroux Pounds, sun-sentinel.com, 2 Dec. 2019
At the very end of the show, rapper Rico Nasty strutted out with a should-be-legal rolled piece of paper between her fingers.
—Nicole Phelps, Vogue, 12 Mar. 2019
American Media agreed to give Ms. McDougal back the rights to her story as part of an April legal settlement, but the company insisted that the Men’s Journal cover go forward as planned.
—WSJ, 27 June 2018
See More
Adjective
Winning bureaucratic, legislative, or even legal battles is not the same as winning the country.
—Amy Davidson Sorkin, The New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2023
After calling an executive session to discuss potential legal issues, the committee tabled the matter, without discussing its merits on Wednesday.
—Emily Goodykoontz, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Sep. 2023
Donald Trump likely is, and the four different legal matters where Donald Trump has been charged with 83 counts stand in stark contrast.
—Eden Villalovas, Washington Examiner, 10 Sep. 2023
Musk said in an X post that their youngest child’s name is Tau Techno Mechanicus, while Isaacson’s book states that the child’s legal name is Techno Mechanicus Musk and his nickname is Tau.
—Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2023
Richard Lehmann, a lawyer suing the district who is also the longtime legal counsel for Republicans in the state Senate, appeared at Wednesday’s event with Haley and Moms for Liberty.
—Emma Platoff, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Sep. 2023
Tristan Thompson, who became his younger brother Amari Thompson's primary caregiver after their mother Andrea's death in January, filed to become Amari's legal guardian.
—Nikki Dobrin, Peoplemag, 9 Sep. 2023
The discussion at the symposium will cover various aspects of AI in image creation, including legal implications, copyright issues, biases, and potential threats to the documentary value of photography.
—Photovogue, Vogue, 29 Aug. 2023
Some people posting to message boards on site likes Reddit and Blind in recent weeks discuss legal rights for employees who say they were hired 12 months earlier as a virtual employee and whether they can be forced to work in an office.
—Brian Fung, CNN, 29 Aug. 2023
Noun
The attempt to make the illicit legal against its own definition, by redefining it in more acceptable terms, is narrative violence.
—A.d. Carson, Spin, 26 Aug. 2023
The Justice Department has challenged Purdue’s deal with members of the Sackler family—and the popular legal...
—Akiko Matsuda, WSJ, 11 Aug. 2023
Financing, production and distribution legal handled by Eugene Pikulin at 3B Law.
—Angelique Jackson, Variety, 24 Feb. 2023
Truthful information disseminated by the news media about matters of public importance carry the highest legal of protection under the First Amendment.
—Erik Wemple, Washington Post, 21 June 2022
As a result, guns are banned in the area, even by those who have legal concealed carry permits.
—Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner, 16 Jan. 2020
Many of Florida’s marijuana dispensaries were not ready when Gov. Ron DeSantis made smokable medical marijuana legal in March.
—Marcia Heroux Pounds, sun-sentinel.com, 2 Dec. 2019
At the very end of the show, rapper Rico Nasty strutted out with a should-be-legal rolled piece of paper between her fingers.
—Nicole Phelps, Vogue, 12 Mar. 2019
American Media agreed to give Ms. McDougal back the rights to her story as part of an April legal settlement, but the company insisted that the Men’s Journal cover go forward as planned.
—WSJ, 27 June 2018
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'legal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing legal
Articles Related to legal
Dictionary Entries Near legal
Cite this Entry
“Legal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legal. Accessed 24 Sep. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
legal
adjective
le·gal
ˈlē-gəl
1
: of or relating to law or lawyers
2
: based on law
a legal right
3
: permitted by law or established rules
legally
adverb
-gə-lē
Legal Definition
legal
adjective
le·gal
ˈlē-gəl 
1
: of or relating to law or the processes of law
a legal question
take legal action
2
a
: deriving authority from or founded on law
a legal tariff rate
a legal government
b
: fulfilling the requirements of law
a legal voter
c
: having a status derived from law : recognized as such by law
a legal certainty
d
: created by operation of especially statutory law
legal incompetence
a legal presumption
compare conventional sense 1, judicial sense 2
e
: established by law
the legal test for mental capacity
3
: conforming to or permitted by law : lawful
a referendum to make gambling legal
4
5
a
: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of the profession of law or one of its members
a corporate legal department
the legal community
b
: of or relating to the study of law
continuing legal education
legally
adverb
Etymology
Adjective
Latin legalis, from leg- lex law
More from Merriam-Webster on legal
Nglish: Translation of legal for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of legal for Arabic Speakers
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share