Abstract
<jats:p>This article examines lexical units related to corruption in English and Uzbek from a comparative linguocultural and semantic perspective. The study proceeds from the idea that socially significant words do not function only as denotative labels, but also encode value judgments, institutional experience, collective emotions, and culturally specific ways of conceptualizing unlawful behavior. The purpose of the article is to identify the semantic organization of the corruption-related lexical field in English and Uzbek, determine the central and peripheral units in both languages, and explain how these units reflect different linguistic and cultural models of evaluating abuse of power and illicit gain. The research is based on comparative semantic analysis, componential analysis, contextual interpretation, and linguocultural analysis of lexicographic and legal sources. The material includes English dictionary definitions of corruption, bribery, bribe, graft, and related legal terminology, as well as Uzbek lexemes such as korrupsiya, pora, poraxo‘rlik, and ta’magirlik fixed in lexicographic and legal discourse. The results show that in both languages the lexical field is built around the ideas of unlawful benefit, abuse of authority, and distortion of legitimate decision-making. At the same time, the English system demonstrates stronger terminological differentiation and a more institutionalized legal profile, while the Uzbek system reveals denser links between legal meaning, moral condemnation, everyday phraseology, and expressive evaluation. The article argues that these differences are important for comparative linguistics, translation studies, legal discourse analysis, and intercultural communication.</jats:p>