Words and phrases are to be construed according to the context and the approved usage of the language; but technical words and phrases, and such others as have acquired a peculiar and appropriate meaning in law, or are defined by statute, are to be construed according to such peculiar and appropriate meaning or definition.
Utah Code § 68-3-11
Rules of construction as to words and phrases
Applied in 12 court decisions — leading case Sullivan v. Scoular Grain Co. of Utah (1993)
Most recently applied in RMB Inc. v. Celotto (December 2024)
No Change Since 1953
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: Utah State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Utah statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.