public law

noun

1

: a legislative enactment affecting the public at large

2

: a branch of law concerned with regulating the relations of individuals with the government and the organization and conduct of the government itself compare private law

Examples of public law in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After several years of rapid growth, the state’s two public law schools topped out at 1,537 students in 2022-23 and have fallen since then. —Center Square, The Washington Examiner, 31 Aug. 2025

Various counties in Michigan enacted ordinances and implemented public laws to ensure the safety of people riding in carts. —Ashley J. Dimella, FOXNews.com, 30 Aug. 2025

In the op-ed, Turley, the Shapiro professor of public law at George Washington University, described the efforts by the nation’s founders to limit presidents’ ability to wage military offensives. —Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 23 June 2025

Prior to Wells’ appointment in 1910, national women’s groups had convinced officials in multiple cities, including Jersey City, Chicago and Boston, to employ female police matrons at jails, psychiatric hospitals and other public law enforcement institutions. —Peter Zablocki, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1531, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for public law

• allantois
• baccarat
• chickasaw
• mackinaw
• overawe
• oversaw
• quebecois
• yojana
• aa
• aha
• bashaw
• bradshaw

Legal Definition

public law

noun

1

: an enactment of a legislature that affects the public at large throughout the entire territory (as a state or nation) which is subject to the jurisdiction of the legislature or within a particular subdivision of its jurisdiction : general law

called also public act, public statute

compare local law sense 1a

2

a

: the area of law that deals with the relations of individuals with the state and regulates the organization and conduct of government compare private law

b

: international law regulating the relations among sovereign states or nations as distinguished from private international law