domestic violence

noun

: violent or abusive behavior directed by one family or household member against another

a domestic violence hotline

He helped start … a family-justice division of the D.A.'s office, which prosecutes those accused of domestic violence and helps their families get back to normal.

—John Cloud

In another disturbing trend, women are victims of domestic violence that spills into the workplace.

—Sarah Henry

Examples of domestic violence in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Atlanta Falcons star rookie James Pearce was arrested Saturday and accused of domestic violence and fleeing from police. —Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 8 Feb. 2026

Throughout the course that investigation, authorities also became aware of a separate domestic violence incident involving a different woman in October 2022, according to the Columbus Dispatch. —Jami Ganz, Mercury News, 8 Feb. 2026

In 2023, he was arrested in Ohio following allegations of domestic violence against his mother and the mother of his son. —Paulina Dedaj, FOXNews.com, 7 Feb. 2026

Eight days before Josue Avila-Carcamo is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend in last weekend’s double homicide in Kansas City, Kansas, police arrested him on an outstanding domestic violence warrant. —Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 6 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1891, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for domestic violence

• nonviolence

Kids Definition

domestic violence

noun

: the inflicting of physical harm by one family or household member on another

Legal Definition

domestic violence

noun

domestic vi·​o·​lence

: violence committed by one family or household member against another see also restraining order at order