lawyer

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lawyer^¹

/ˈlɔːjə(ɹ)/ UK
/ˈlɔɪ.ə(ɹ)/ UK
/ˈlɔɪ.ɚ/ Northern, US, Western
/ˈlɔ.jɚ/ Southern, US
/ˈlɔɪ.əɹ/
/ˈlɔɪ.ɐ/
/ˈlɔjə(ɾ)/ South Asia
/ˈlɑjə(ɾ)/ South Asia

Rhymes with -ɔɪ.ə(ɹ), -ɔː.jə(ɹ), -ɔɪə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle English lawiere, lawier, lawer, equivalent to law + -yer.

noun lawyers · lawer

A professional person with a graduate law degree that qualifies for legal work (such as Juris Doctor)
A professional person qualified (as by a law degree or bar exam) and authorized to practice law as an attorney-at-law, solicitor, advocate, barrister or equivalent, i.e. represent parties in lawsuits or trials and give legal advice. His forefathers had been, as a rule, professional men—physicians and lawyers; his grandfather died under the walls of Chapultepec Castle while twisting a tourniquet for a cursing dragoon; an uncle remained indefinitely at Malvern Hill;[…].
Similar: advocate, attorney, counselor
broadly A legal layman who argues points of law.
UK, colloquial The burbot.
UK, dialectal The stem of a bramble.
A relative of the raspberry found in Australia and New Zealand, Rubus australis The species of Eugnomus are very partial to the lawyer (Rubus australis ) when in bloom.
Various species of Calamus, including Calamus australis, Calamus muelleri, Calamus obstruens, Calamus vitiensis, Calamus warburgii, and Calamus moti. Besides the bags and nets common throughout the continent, these tribes have water-bags, which they make of closely-plaited “lawyer” (Calamus Australis), and also of palm-leaf sewn with the sinews of animals.
A woody climbing rainforest vine, Flagellaria indica. The stems of the "lawyer vine" (Flagellaria indica), buz or buzi (W.), boz (E.), are used in house-building, tying fences, etc.

verb lawyers · lawyering · lawyered · lawer

informal, intransitive To practice law.
intransitive To perform, or attempt to perform, the work of a lawyer.
intransitive To make legalistic arguments.
informal, transitive To barrage (a person) with questions in order to get them to admit something. You've been lawyered!

Lawyer^²

proper noun

A male given name.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: attorney, notary, attorney-at-law, barrister, prosecutor, ombudsman, litigator, jurist, avvocato, law, practitioner, advocate, lawman, legal, advocacy, supporter

noun

Translations

Every language

noun professional person with a graduate law degree that qualifies for legal work

Español	abogado, abogada, letrado, notario
한국어	변호사 byeonhosa
日本語	弁護士 bengoshi, 法曹 hōsō
中文	律師 /律师 lǜshī
हिन्दी	वकील vakīl
Kiswahili	wakili
Português	advogado, advogada
Français	juriste, homme de loi, femme de loi, avocat, avocate
Deutsch	Rechtsanwalt, Rechtsanwältin, Anwalt, Anwältin
Italiano	avvocato, avvocatessa, legale
Ελληνικά	δικηγόρος dikigóros
Română	avocat, avocată, jurist, juristă
Русский	юри́ст juríst, юри́стка jurístka, адвока́т advokát
Tiếng Việt	luật sư
العربية	مُحَامٍ muḥāmin, مُحَامِيَة muḥāmiya
עברית	עוֹרֵךְ דִּין orékh-dín, עוֹרֶכֶת דִּין orékhet-dín, פְּרַקְלִיט praklít, פְּרַקְלִיטָה praklíta

noun layman who argues points of law

Español	leguleyo, abogado de secano, tinterillo, rábula
Italiano	giurista

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MLA

"lawyer." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/lawyer. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

lawyer. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/lawyer

Chicago

"lawyer." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/lawyer.

BibTeX

@misc{lawyer_2026,
  title = {lawyer},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/lawyer},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}