Phrase guide

public law

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A category of law governing the relationship between the state on the one hand and persons (citizens or legal persons including corporations) on the other. Constitutional law, administrative law and criminal law are some of the major subdivisions of public law.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: law

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a law affecting the public at large

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: law

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

30 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: dret públic — law
  • Chinese Mandarin: 公法 (gōngfǎ) — law
  • Dutch: publiekrecht — law
  • Estonian: avalik õigus — law
  • Finnish: julkisoikeus — law
  • French: droit public — law
  • West-Frisian: publykrjocht — law
  • German: öffentliches Recht — law
  • Greek: δημόσιο δίκαιο (dimósio díkaio) — law
  • Hindi: जन कानून (jan kānūn) — law
  • Hungarian: közjog — law
  • Italian: diritto pubblico — law
  • Japanese: 公法 (kōhō) — law
  • Korean: 공법 (gongbeop) — law
  • Latin: iūs pūblicum — law
  • Latvian: publiskās tiesības — law
  • Lithuanian: viešoji teisė — law
  • Norwegian Bokmål: offentlig rett — law
  • Persian: حقوق عمومی — law
  • Polish: prawo publiczne — law
  • Portuguese: direito público — law
  • Romanian: drept public — law
  • Russian: обще́ственное пра́во (obščéstvennoje právo) — law
  • Russian: публи́чное пра́во (publíčnoje právo) — law
  • Slovak: verejné právo — law
  • Spanish: derecho público — law
  • Swedish: offentlig rätt — law
  • Thai: กฎหมายมหาชน (gòt-mǎai-má-hǎa-chon) — law
  • Turkish: kamu hukuku — law
  • Ukrainian: публі́чне пра́во (publíčne právo) — law