Stroud's Judicial Dictionary of Words and Phrases 12th ed

First published in 1890, Stroud is long established as the foremost dictionary of the English law as it has been interpreted by the courts and in statutory material. In three volumes, Stroud is a comprehensive and indispensable tool for the practitioner and a unique resource for the researcher, providing quick access to exact, authoritative meanings.

Stroud's Judicial Dictionary remains the starting point for research into the meaning of all words and phrases that come to be used in a legal context. Unlike Jowitt's Dictionary of English Law, which provides an authoritative definition of technical legal concepts, Stroud records how any expression that happens to occur in a legal document or be referred to for a legal purpose has been construed by the courts or defined in legislation.

The 12th edition is fully up to date to March 2026 with:

• Latest statutory material from UK Acts and other UK legislation (including devolved legislation).
• Full quotes from decided cases and statutory material wherever possible, for ease of research.
• Latest updates of long-standing general terms (such as Activity, Automated passenger service, Beneficial, Cause of action, Debt, Employee, Fit and proper person, Garden, Habitual residence, Indictment, Judgment, Keeper, Land, Matter, Necessary, Operate, Partner, Reason to believe, Serious, Transaction, Use, Value, and Worker).
• Capture of new and evolving terms (such as Abortion clinic, Bitcoin / Blockchain, Car cruising, Dog-leg claim, Energy saving, Fractional ownership timeshare, Gender-critical, Hamid jurisdiction, Infill dwelling, Jameel abuse, Kay's Law, Low emission zone scheme, MMS message, MITIC fraud, Neonatal care, Online interface, Paper trade document, Quasi-partnership, Rambo, Screwed, Take-back service, User-to-user service, Victim of human trafficking, Worker-received tip, and Zombie knife).