martial law: Meaning and Definition of

mar'tial law'

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. the law temporarily imposed upon an area by state or national military forces when civil authority has broken down or during wartime military operations.
  2. the law imposed upon a defeated country or occupied territory by the military forces of the occupying power.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.