take the law into one's own hands

English

Alternative forms

• take law into one's own hands

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Verb

take the law into one's own hands

1. (intransitive, idiomatic) To punish someone according to one's own idea of justice and without consideration for the role of law enforcement authorities.

   After his son's killer was let off without a conviction, the man decided to take the law into his own hands.

Translations

punish someone according to one's own idea of justice

• Catalan: fer justícia pel seu compte
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 用私刑

• Finnish: ottaa laki omiin käsiinsä, käyttää omankädenoikeutta, jakaa oman käden oikeutta
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• French: se faire justice soi-même
• Hebrew: לָקַח אֶת הָחֹק לַיָּדַיִם m (lakáħ et ha-ħok la-yadáyim) (modern)
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: tomarse la justicia por su mano

Related terms

• take matters into one's own hands