Definitions

Secondary sources for "definitions"—primarily legal dictionaries—help researchers understand the terminology and words used in the text of primary sources of law. Definitions in secondary sources do not establish an "authoritative" definition of a term but aid in a general understanding of a term.

Legal Dictionaries
Words & Phrases

Legal dictionaries provide definitions of legal terminology and words in their legal sense or use. They typically provide a short definition with reference to cases and other legal sources for authority, and frequently give examples of word usage in various legal situations. Black's Law Dictionary is the leading legal dictionary in the United States. Legal dictionaries can be found in print and online sources.

Legal Dictionaries in Print

The print materials listed below link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online resources are provided when available.

Ballentine's Law Dictionary, with pronunciations by William S. Anderson, editor
Call Number: KF156 .B3 1969
Published/Created: 1969
Contains over 40,000 definitions of legal terms based on decisions in courts of last resort. An electronic version is available on NexisUni (see link below).
Black's Law Dictionary, Eleventh Edition by Bryan A. Garner, editor in chief
Call Number: KF156 .B53 2019
Published/Created: 2019
Defines more than 55,000 law-related words and phrases, with historical context. Also available on the subscription legal research database Westlaw (see link below).
Garner's Dictionary of Legal Usage by Bryan Garner
Call Number: KF156 .G367 2011
Published/Created: 2011
Discusses and analyzes modern legal vocabulary.
Law Dictionary (Barron's) by Steven H. Gifis
Call Number: KF156 .G53 2016
Published/Created: 2016
Defines more than 5,000 legal terms using nontechnical language. Electronic version available on Bloomberg Law (see link below).
Nolo's Plain-English Law Dictionary by Nolo Press Editors; Kathleen Hill; Gerald Hill
Call Number: KF156 .N654 2009
Published/Created: 2009
Plain-English definitions of legal terms. A free electronic version is available online (see link below).
The Wolters Kluwer Bouvier Law Dictionary (Bouvier's) by Stephen Michael Sheppard, general editor
Call Number: KF156 .W655 2012
Published/Created: 2012
Over 8,500 entries explaining more than 11,200 law-related words and phrases.

Online Resources and Electronic Databases

Free legal dictionaries are available online, but online access to recent editions of pre-eminent legal dictionaries is typically restricted to subscription legal research databases. The subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

Nolo's Free Dictionary Of Law Terms and Legal Definitions External
Browse plain-English definitions for legal terms.
Wex Legal Dictionary & Encyclopedia External
Community-built legal dictionary sponsored and hosted by the Legal Information Institute at the Cornell Law School.

Nexis Uni External This link opens in a new window
Contains over 6,000 news, business, and legal sources, including deep backfiles and up-to-the-minute stories in national and regional newspapers, wire services, broadcast transcripts, international news, and non-English language sources. Use the included Company Dossier module to retrieve detailed company information and financial performance measures or identify and compare companies matching specific criteria. Areas covered include:
- NEWS Full text of hundreds of newspapers, magazines, and newswires from the U.S. and around the world Hard-to-find broadcast transcripts from the major television and radio Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch and other foreign-language newspapers and magazines
- LEGAL Comprehensive coverage of US federal and state case law and statutory law Law review articles from over 500 publications Legal news from more than 300 legal newspapers, magazines, and newsletters Patents from 1971 forward
- BUSINESS Company Dossier service, including detailed financial and operating data on over 43 million US and international companies Business and trade publications SEC filings
Bloomberg Law (Patron Access) External This link opens in a new window
Bloomberg Law practitioner resources include:
- Court Dockets: Federal and select state and foreign jurisdiction court dockets and court documents
- BNA publications, newsletters and current awareness sources and law reports; subject areas include: antitrust, banking, bankruptcy, corporate and securities, criminal law, employee benefits, employment and labor, environment and safety, ethics, family law, health care, homeland security, intellectual property, international law (e.g., environmental, tax, trade), litigation, product liability, tax, trade and commerce
- Treatises in various subject areas from publishers such as American Bankruptcy Institute, ABA, Bloomberg BNA, James Publishing, and Wiley Press
- Practice Centers: access primary and secondary resources in fields of law such as antitrust, banking and finance, bankruptcy, corporate/M&A, environment, health, intellectual property, labor and employment, privacy and data security, securities, and tax (including Tax Management Portfolios)
- Litigation Analytics (by Company, Law Firm, or Judge)
- Sample documents, forms, and checklists (see, Transactional Precedents, Practical Guidance, and Practitioner Tools)
- EDGAR
- Federal and State primary law (statutory codes, court cases, regulations)
- BCite legal citator
Access only available in the Law Library Reading Room; see library staff for assistance.
Westlaw Patron Access This link opens in a new window
Westlaw Patron Access provides access to up-to-date legal information from Westlaw, including case headnotes and synopses, Table of Contents service, Key Cite, West Key Number System, and KeySearch.
Access to this site is only available from the Law Library Reading Room.
The simultaneous user limit for this resource may result in temporary delays.

West Publishing Co.'s Words and Phrases is a multivolume research tool, similar to a legal dictionary in that it includes legal definitions of words. However, Words and Phrases also includes multiple entries indicating how the term or the word has been defined by the courts. An electronic version of the resource is available on Westlaw (see link below).

Words and Phrases in Print

The title listed below link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online resources are provided when available.

Words and Phrases
Call Number: KF156 .W6712
Published/Created: Permanent ed. 1658 to date. All judicial constructions and definitions of words and phrases by the State and Federal courts from the earliest times, alphabetically arranged and indexed.
First to fourth series published 1904/05-1933, have title: Judicial and statutory definitions of words and phrases. Fifth series, 1939, have title: Words and phrases covering judicial construction and definitions.
Kept up to date by cumulative annual pocket supplements and replacement vols.

Electronic Database

The subscription resource marked with a padlock is available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

Westlaw Patron Access This link opens in a new window
Westlaw Patron Access provides access to up-to-date legal information from Westlaw, including case headnotes and synopses, Table of Contents service, Key Cite, West Key Number System, and KeySearch.
Access to this site is only available from the Law Library Reading Room.
The simultaneous user limit for this resource may result in temporary delays.

Legal Research: A Guide to Secondary Resources

Definitions

Legal Dictionaries in Print

Online Resources and Electronic Databases

Words and Phrases in Print

Electronic Database