Definition of "common-law" [common-law]

Of, relating to, or based on common law. (adjective)
Of or relating to a common-law marriage. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "common-law" in a sentence

"In her order Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon ruled that Mr. Picard lacks legal standing to bring so-called common-law claims, including allegations of aiding and abetting fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, in separate lawsuits against J.P. Morgan and UBS."
"But American law recognized two secular forms of marriage: the civil ceremony, which had been well-known during the colonial period, and the so-called common-law marriage, which was probably an American innovation."
"The girl, who Santos describes as his common-law wife, was 15."

Words like "common-law"

common law

common-law marriage