private law

noun

: a branch of law concerned with private persons, property, and relationships compare public law

Examples of private law in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
At the same, he's started increasingly outsourcing major cases to private law firms. Jeremy Kohler, ProPublica, 24 Sep. 2025 Last month, the group launched its own appellate practice of about a dozen lawyers, citing the pullback from private law firms, in an attempt to start rebuilding that infrastructure. Ella Lee, The Hill, 10 Sep. 2025 Although all the private law firms that challenged the executive orders issued against them have succeeded in blocking them, the Trump administration has also recently filed ethics charges against at least one of the lawyers involved in a lawsuit against it. Ray Brescia, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2025 Divided government has proven lucrative for the private law firms that legislative leaders have hired, many of whom have ties to the national GOP and the Wisconsin Department of Justice under former Republican state attorneys general. Francesca Pica, jsonline.com, 17 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for private law

Word History

First Known Use

1773, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of private law was in 1773

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Private law.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/private%20law. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.

Legal Definition

private law

noun
: a branch of law concerned with private persons, property, and relationships compare public law

More from Merriam-Webster on private law

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