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# legal

«legal» in Mova's school dictionary: **Allowed by the law of a country or place** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (legal, more legal, most legal)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Allowed by the law of a country or place. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/legal/#m1)

2) To do with the law, courts and lawyers: legal advice, a legal case. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/legal/#m2)

3) Following the rules of a game or a sport: a legal move in chess. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/legal/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life and safety it tells you something is allowed by law (it is legal to ride a bike here; it is not legal to drive without a licence). In stories a «legal battle» is a fight in court. Phrases: legal age, legal tender (money that must be accepted), legal guardian, legal move. In maths and games a «legal move» is one the rules allow.

### examples

- It is legal to cross the road at a zebra crossing. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/legal/#x1)
- Is it legal to fly a drone in the park? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/legal/#x2)
- Her aunt gives legal advice to families. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/legal/#x3)
- The bishop's move was legal, so the game went on. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/legal/#x4)
- You must be of legal age to vote. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/legal/#x5)
- His legal guardian signed the school form. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/legal/#x6)
- Coins and notes are legal tender. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/legal/#x7)
- The company started a legal case against the builder. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/legal/#x8)

### note

Opposite: illegal (with -il, not «unlegal»). Noun: legality; adverb: legally. Legal does not always mean right or kind, and some things that feel unfair are still legal. A «legal guardian» is the adult the law puts in charge of a child. «Legal size» paper is a size used in the USA and Canada.

### In the corpora

- [In the UK a strike is legal after a vote, and the disruption is deliberate so that people notice.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/4-when-work-goes-wrong/13/)
- [A divorce is the official legal end of a marriage, and "the divorce came through" means the court has finished it.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/15-when-parents-separate/11/)
- [It was reported that more cases of invented court cases in legal papers happened later, in other countries too.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/20-news-court-cases-airline/8/)
- [Some cities have legal walls, also called free walls, where graffiti is allowed, and the paintings change quickly.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/19-street-art-and-graffiti-legal-walls-vs-vandalism/8/)
- ["Undocumented immigrant" means an immigrant living without legal permission (US, polite).](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/24-government-spin/17/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «legal» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/legal/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.