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someone who refuses to obey the law: Cars of scofflaws who owe $250 or more in traffic fines will be targeted for seizure . Pennsylvania is renewing its effort to hunt down tobacco tax scofflaws.
Scofflaw is a noun coined during the Prohibition era which originally denoted a person who drinks illegally, or otherwise ignored anti-drinking laws. It is a compound of the words scoff and law. Its use has been extended to mean one who flouts any law, especially those difficult to enforce, and particularly traffic laws.
The meaning of SCOFFLAW is a contemptuous law violator. Scofflaw Was Created for a Contest.
If you refer to someone as a scofflaw, you mean that they refuse to obey the law, for example, by failing to pay their debts or by ignoring minor legal regulations.
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun scofflaw. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence. This word is used in U.S. English.
Define scofflaw. scofflaw synonyms, scofflaw pronunciation, scofflaw translation, English dictionary definition of scofflaw. n. One who habitually violates laws, especially laws that do not involve serious criminal offenses.
a person who often breaks the law but in a way that is not very serious. Questions about grammar and vocabulary? Find the answers with Practical English Usage online, your indispensable guide to problems in English. Definition of scofflaw noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
