lawyer

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun One whose profession is to give legal advice and assistance to clients and represent them in court or in other legal matters.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun One who is versed in the law, or is a practitioner of law; one whose profession is to prosecute or defend suits in courts, or advise clients as to their legal rights, and aid them in securing those rights. It is a general term, comprehending attorneys, counselors, solicitors, proctors, barristers, Serjeants, and advocates.
• noun In the New Testament, an interpreter or expounder of the Mosaic law.
• noun The mudfish or bowfin, Amia calva; also, the burbot, Lota maculosa: both more fully called lake-lawyer.
• noun The black-necked stilt, Himantopus nigricollis. De Kay.
• noun An old thorny stem of a brier or bramble, as of Rosa canina or Rubus fruticosus.
• noun Same as gray snapper. See snapper.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun One versed in the laws, or a practitioner of law; one whose profession is to conduct lawsuits for clients, or to advise as to prosecution or defence of lawsuits, or as to legal rights and obligations in other matters. It is a general term, comprehending attorneys, counselors, solicitors, barristers, sergeants, and advocates.
• noun The black-necked stilt. See Stilt.
• noun The bowfin (Amia calva).
• noun The burbot (Lota maculosa).
• noun A lawyer knowledgeable about the most detailed and minute points of law, especially one with an exceptional propensity and ability to exploit fine technical points of law for the client's advantage.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun A professional person qualified (as by a law degree and/or bar exam) and authorized to practice law, i.e. conduct lawsuits and/or give legal advice.
• noun By extension, a legal layman who argues points of law.
• verb informal To practice law.
• verb To perform, or attempt to perform, the work of a lawyer.
• verb To make legalistic arguments.
• verb With "up", to acquire the services of a lawyer.
• verb colloquial, criminal law With "up", to exercise the right to ask for the presence of one's attorney.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice