Standard Lemma guide

scofflaw

noun · 3 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /ˈskɔfˌlɔ/
  • US: /ˈskɒfˌlɔ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

a criminal or lawbreaker, especially one who is openly contemptuous or dismissive of current laws or displays conspicuous or outward disrespect, distain, or disregard for the law

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

One who habitually violates minor laws or fails to answer trivial court summonses (such as parking tickets).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US

Examples

  • 2001: 10th International Conference on High-Occupancy Vehicle Systems: Compendium of Technical Papers The signage will make it clear that if a motorist is an HOV scofflaw (i.e., violator of the vehicle code driving in the HOV-Only zone) that they will be subject to HOV violation fine of at least $271.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

one who habitually ignores the law and does not answer court summonses

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: criminal, felon, crook, outlaw, malefactor

History

Etymology

From scoff + law. Coined simultaneously by Mr Henry Irving Dale and Miss Kate L. Butler for a contest held in Boston in 1923 in which a word for "a lawless drinker of illegally made or illegally obtained liquor" was sought during the Prohibition era.