1. (

• law ,
• jurisprudence

) the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order" ;

2. (

• law

) legal document setting forth rules governing a particular kind of activity; "there is a law against kidnapping" ;

3. (

• law ,
• natural_law

) a rule or body of rules of conduct inherent in human nature and essential to or binding upon human society ;

4. (

• law ,
• law_of_nature

) a generalization that describes recurring facts or events in nature; "the laws of thermodynamics" ;

5. (

• jurisprudence ,
• law ,
• legal_philosophy

) the branch of philosophy concerned with the law and the principles that lead courts to make the decisions they do ;

6. (

• law ,
• practice_of_law

) the learned profession that is mastered by graduate study in a law school and that is responsible for the judicial system; "he studied law at Yale" ;

7. (

• police ,
• police_force ,
• constabulary ,
• law ,

) the force of policemen and officers; "the law came looking for him" ;