lawyer

[law-yer, loi-er]

noun

1. a person whose profession is to represent clients in a court of law or to advise or act for clients in other legal matters.

2. New Testament.,  an interpreter of the Mosaic Law. Luke 14:3.

verb (used without object)

1. to work as a lawyer; practice law.

verb (used with object)

1. to submit (a case, document, or the like) to a lawyer for examination, advice, clarification, etc.

verb phrase

1. lawyer up,  to hire a lawyer, especially when there is a perceived risk of being sued or charged with a crime.

   It’s time to lawyer up to protect yourself and your family.

lawyer

/ ˈlɔːjə, ˈlɔɪə /

noun

1. a member of the legal profession, esp a solicitor See also advocate barrister solicitor

2. a popular name for burbot

Other Word Forms

• lawyerlike adjective
• lawyerly adjective
• delawyer verb (used with object)
• nonlawyer noun
• underlawyer noun
• unlawyerlike adjective
• unlawyerly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of lawyer¹

First recorded in 1350–1400, lawyer is from the Middle English word lawyere. See law ¹, -ier ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of lawyer¹

C14: from _law ¹

Example Sentences

He recently accepted a Justice Department request to send up to 600 military lawyers to serve as temporary immigration judges.

From Los Angeles Times

Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with immigrant rights lawyers and lower court judges who argued the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 was not intended to be used against gangs such as Tren de Aragua.

From Los Angeles Times

In interviews, real estate lawyers said that mortgage lenders are typically well aware of their clients’ other loans and sometimes even encourage the primary-residence language for second homes.

From Salon

But Charles Kuck, an immigration lawyer in Atlanta, told the New York Times that two of his clients were wrongly caught up in the raid.

From BBC

“It will provide meaningful compensation for each class work and sets a precedent requiring AI companies to pay copyright owners,” said Justin Nelson, a lawyer for the authors, in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• advocate 
• counselor