legal

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
6
Words With Friends
9
Letters
5
Pronunciation
/ˈliː.ɡəl/
See all 3 pronunciations
/ˈliː.ɡəl/ · /ˈli.ɡəl/ (US) · /lɪˈɡæl/

Definition of legal

12 senses · 3 parts of speech · etymology included

adj

  1. Relating to the law or to lawyers.
    “legal profession”
    “According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle.”
See all 12 definitions

adj

  1. Relating to the law or to lawyers.
    “legal profession”
    “According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle.”
  2. Having its basis in the law.
    “legal precedent”
  3. Being established, permitted, required or prescribed by law.
    “legal motion”
    “In South Africa, it’s still legal to “trophy hunt” the white rhino, which [Anna] Merz and others find reprehensible.”
    “After 50 years, legal segregation is a distant memory, and race in America is not the unbridgeable chasm it once was. The country has a black president. The sort of comity that King evoked, in which the descendants of slaves and of slave owners “sit down together at the table of brotherhood”, can be found in many places, including the Deep South. The rate of marriage between blacks and whites is rising.”
  4. Following the rules or syntax of a system, such as a game or a programming language.
    “If you have no legal move, but are not in check the game is a draw.”
    “Programming languages are designed so that each legal program has exactly one meaning”
  5. (informal)Above the age of consent or the legal drinking age.
    “"Is she even legal? Shame on you, diddlin' a girl too young to buy beer. You being a church deacon and all." If looks could kill, Dale would be dead.”
    “"Is she even legal? She looks like a minor." Elias whispers back, "Of course. I checked her passport. She's 20. What do you take me for? Be nice. I like her." I immediately smile at the girl behind Elias,[…]”
  6. Permitting the use and/or sale of cannabis; in which cannabis is lawful.
    “Whether you're interested in opening a retail marijuana store in a legal state or if you're interested in investing in someone or a company, which is operating in a legal state, there are[…]”
    “[Because] marijuana is still a federally illegal drug, using the drug in a child's presence, even in a legal state, could thus be construed as child abuse.”

noun

  1. (informal, uncountable)The legal department of a company or organization.
    “Legal wants this in writing.”
  2. (countable)A spy who is attached to, and ostensibly employed by, an embassy, military outpost, etc.
  3. (US, countable, informal)One who immigrated lawfully.
  4. (Canada, US, uncountable)Of paper or document layouts, measuring 8+¹⁄₂ × 14 inches (216 × 356 mm).
  5. (Philippines, countable, uncountable)Of paper or document layouts, measuring 8+¹⁄₂ × 13 inches (216 × 330 mm).

name

  1. A town in Alberta, Canada.

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin lēgālis (“legal”), from lēx (“law”). Doublet of loyal and leal.

Anagrams of legal

2 plays · some not in Scrabble

Hooks

1 extension · 1 back

A single letter you can add to legal to make another valid word.

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