An outlaw is someone who has broken the law and lives outside its protection, often hiding from authorities. In the American Old West, outlaws like Jesse James and Billy the Kid robbed banks and trains, living on the run from sheriffs and marshals. These criminals were called outlaws because they had been declared “outside the law”: anyone could capture them, and they had no legal rights or protections.

The word also works as a verb. When a government outlaws something, it makes that thing illegal. Many countries have outlawed child labor, making it against the law to employ young children in dangerous jobs. Cities might outlaw fireworks, and schools outlaw running in hallways.

In stories and legends, outlaws often get romanticized as dashing rebels fighting against unfair rules. Robin Hood, the legendary English outlaw, supposedly stole from the rich to give to the poor. But real outlaws were usually criminals who hurt innocent people. The word carries a sense of someone who has rejected society's rules entirely, whether out of desperation, greed, or rebellion. When something is outlawed, society has decided it's harmful enough that it must be forbidden and punished.