Legal Glossary

Plain-language definitions of the legal terms you'll run into on this site. Written at an 8th-grade reading level — no Latin unless the term itself is Latin. Click any term to copy its direct link.

Housing & Tenancy

Warranty of Habitability: The legal promise your landlord makes that the rental unit will be safe and livable — with working heat, plumbing, electricity, and no serious hazards. It applies in most US states whether it's written in the lease or not.
See also: Habitability rights
Security Deposit: Money you pay at the start of a lease that the landlord holds to cover unpaid rent or damage beyond normal wear and tear. Most states cap the amount and require the landlord to return it (with an itemized list of any deductions) within a set number of days after you move out.
See also: Security deposit rights
Constructive Eviction: When a landlord makes the unit so unlivable — ignoring major repairs, shutting off utilities, harassing the tenant — that the tenant is effectively forced to leave. Courts may treat this as an illegal eviction even though no formal notice was ever filed.
Landlord Retaliation: An illegal action by a landlord — like raising rent, refusing repairs, or filing an eviction — because a tenant exercised a legal right such as reporting code violations or joining a tenant union.
See also: Retaliation rights
Notice to Quit: A written notice from a landlord telling a tenant to leave (or fix a lease violation) by a set date. It is usually the first required step before a landlord can file an eviction lawsuit.
Rent Control: A local law that caps how much a landlord can raise rent each year on covered units. Rent control exists in a limited number of US cities and states and usually applies only to older buildings.
See also: Rent control rights

Workers' Rights & Employment

At-Will Employment: The default US rule that either the employer or the employee can end the job at any time, for almost any reason. It does not allow firing you for an illegal reason — such as discrimination, retaliation, or refusing to break the law.
Wrongful Termination: Being fired for an illegal reason — for example, because of your race, sex, age, disability, pregnancy, or because you reported illegal conduct. At-will employment does not protect these firings.
Wage Theft: When an employer fails to pay the wages legally owed — including unpaid overtime, off-the-clock work, kept tips, or below-minimum-wage pay. It is illegal under federal and state wage-and-hour laws.
See also: Tip & wage theft rights
Non-Compete Agreement: A contract clause that limits where you can work after you leave a job. The FTC's 2024 ban on most non-competes is on hold in court; enforceability varies heavily by state, with California, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and North Dakota banning most of them outright.
See also: Non-compete rights
FMLA: The federal Family and Medical Leave Act. It gives eligible workers at companies with 50 or more employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for a serious health condition, a new child, or to care for a family member.
Overtime: Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees must be paid at least 1.5× their regular hourly rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. State laws can require more generous overtime rules.
Protected Class: A group of people that federal or state law protects from discrimination in employment, housing, or services. Federal protected classes include race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, age (40+), disability, and genetic information.

Police Encounters & Criminal Justice

Miranda Rights: The warning police must read before questioning you while you are in custody — your right to remain silent and your right to an attorney. If they don't give the warning, statements you make during custodial questioning usually can't be used against you in court.
Probable Cause: A reasonable basis — more than a hunch — for police to believe a crime has been committed. Police generally need probable cause to arrest you, search your home, or get a warrant.
Reasonable Suspicion: A lower bar than probable cause: specific, articulable facts that would make a reasonable officer suspect someone of criminal activity. It is enough to briefly stop and question a person, but not enough to arrest or search them thoroughly.
Stop and Identify: A law in some US states that requires a person who is lawfully stopped by police to give their name. States without such a statute generally don't require you to identify yourself unless you are driving or under arrest.
DUI / DWI: Driving Under the Influence and Driving While Intoxicated — names for the same core offense of operating a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs. The per-se blood-alcohol limit is 0.08% in every US state except Utah (0.05%).
See also: DUI/DWI rights
Implied Consent: By driving on a public road, you are legally considered to have agreed to take a breath, blood, or urine test if police lawfully arrest you for DUI. Refusing usually triggers an automatic license suspension, even if you are later acquitted.

Consumer Rights

Lemon Law: State laws that let you return a defective new vehicle (or get it replaced/refunded) if the manufacturer can't fix a substantial problem after a reasonable number of attempts. All 50 states have one, but what counts as a 'lemon' varies.
See also: Lemon law rights
FDCPA: The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. It bans third-party debt collectors from calling at unreasonable hours, using abusive language, threatening illegal action, or contacting you at work after you tell them to stop.
TCPA: The federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act. It restricts robocalls and unsolicited text messages, and gives consumers the right to sue for $500–$1,500 per violating call or text.
See also: Robocall rights
Chargeback: A dispute filed with your credit-card issuer to reverse a charge — for example, if goods never arrived or a merchant refuses a legitimate refund. The Fair Credit Billing Act gives you 60 days from the statement date to file one.
Right to Cure: A period given by contract or statute during which a party who has breached an agreement can fix the problem before the other side can sue or cancel. Common in consumer-goods and construction disputes.

Family Law

No-Fault Divorce: A divorce where neither spouse has to prove the other did something wrong. Every US state now allows some form of no-fault divorce, usually on grounds of 'irreconcilable differences.'
Community Property: A rule in 9 US states (AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI) that most income and property acquired during the marriage is owned equally by both spouses. In a divorce, it is typically split 50/50.
Custody vs. Visitation: Custody covers legal decision-making and primary residence for a child. Visitation (sometimes called 'parenting time') is the schedule for a non-custodial parent to spend time with the child.
Child Support: Money one parent pays the other to cover a child's housing, food, healthcare, and education. Every state has a formula that uses both parents' incomes and parenting-time percentages to set the amount.
Prenuptial Agreement: A contract signed before marriage that sets how assets and debts will be divided if the couple divorces. To be enforceable, both parties usually need to sign it voluntarily with full financial disclosure and (often) independent legal counsel.

Civil Procedure & General Legal Terms

Statute of Limitations: The deadline for filing a lawsuit after the event that caused the harm. It varies by claim type and state — for example, 2 years for personal injury in many states, 6 years for most written contracts.
Small Claims Court: A simplified court for money disputes below a state-set dollar limit (usually $5,000 to $25,000). Lawyers are often barred or optional, and hearings are designed for people representing themselves.
Demand Letter: A written request that someone do something — pay a debt, stop a behavior, return property — before you file a lawsuit. Many courts and statutes effectively require one as a first step, and sending one often resolves the dispute without litigation.
See also: Legal letter generator
Cease and Desist: A formal letter telling someone to stop an allegedly illegal action — harassment, trademark infringement, unwanted contact — and warning that legal action will follow if they don't. It is not a court order by itself.
Pro Se: Latin for 'for oneself.' Representing yourself in court without a lawyer. Every US court allows this in civil cases, though judges generally still expect you to follow the rules of procedure.
Discovery: The pre-trial phase where each side exchanges evidence, answers written questions, and takes depositions. It is usually where most lawsuits settle because both sides see the strength of the other's case.
Settlement: A written agreement that ends a legal dispute before (or sometimes during) trial, usually in exchange for money or a specific action. Roughly 95% of US civil cases end in settlement rather than a verdict.

Immigration & Healthcare

Green Card: A Lawful Permanent Resident card issued by USCIS. It lets a non-citizen live and work in the US indefinitely and is the usual step before applying for citizenship.
Asylum: Protection granted to a person already in the US (or at a port of entry) who can show a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
HIPAA: The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Its Privacy Rule limits how doctors, hospitals, and insurers can share your health information and gives you the right to see and correct your medical records.
EMTALA: The federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. It requires hospitals with emergency rooms to screen and stabilize anyone who arrives with an emergency condition, regardless of ability to pay or insurance status.
Mental Health Parity: The federal rule (MHPAEA) that requires health insurers to cover mental-health and substance-use treatment on terms no more restrictive than medical and surgical care — same copays, same visit limits, same prior-authorization rules.
See also: Mental health parity rights