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.
Recent Examples on the Web
Suzanne Gamboa, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
Justin says Lo now owes him more than $165,000 in legal fees, back rent, and repairs.
—Suzanne Seggerman, Curbed, 14 Nov. 2024
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 12 May 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for legal 
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show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
According to the post-election poll by the Democratic-leaning groups, Latino voters supported providing legal status to undocumented immigrants who have lived in the U.S. a very long time, including those brought to the U.S. as children.
—Suzanne Gamboa, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
Justin says Lo now owes him more than $165,000 in legal fees, back rent, and repairs.
—Suzanne Seggerman, Curbed, 14 Nov. 2024
Noun
As long as the illegals thrive, the legals have no chance to gain a true foothold in the marketplace, which makes a mockery of good governance and a special mockery of the state’s promise to give those harmed by the war on drugs a leg up in this new marketplace.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 12 May 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for 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 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLegal 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
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