legally

adverb

le·​gal·​ly ˈlē-gə-lē How to pronounce legally (audio)
1
: in a legal manner : in accordance with the law
a transfer that was not done legally
a drug that can now be legally bought and sold in many countries
2
: from the point of view of law
Legally, she had no claim to the estate.
They were not legally obligated to provide assistance.
a person who is legally blind [=who is blind according to the legal definition of blindness]
legally drunk [=drunk according to the legal definition of drunkenness]

Examples of legally in a Sentence

that's not a move that can be made legally in chess
Recent Examples on the Web Must the assets legally owned and risks contractually borne by an enterprise be allocated somewhere within that enterprise under the AOA, even when none of the enterprise’s personnel at any location perform what would otherwise be the necessary significant people functions? Ryan Finley, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2024 Last year, at the behest of Virginia’s Republican governor, the state removed more than three thousand people from the rolls who were, in fact, legally qualified to vote. Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2024 The report found that though legally schools must offer a fee-free option to pay by cash or check, there’s rarely transparency around it. Cora Lewis, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2024 Under federal law, asylum-seekers must wait 150 days before even applying to legally work in this country. Anita Alves Pena, The Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for legally 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'legally.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1581, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of legally was in 1581

Dictionary Entries Near legally

Cite this Entry

“Legally.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legally. Accessed 28 Sep. 2024.

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