perjury

noun

per·​ju·​ry ˈpər-jə-rē 

ˈpərj-rē

: the voluntary violation of an oath or vow either by swearing to what is untrue or by omission to do what has been promised under oath : false swearing

Did you know?

The prefix per- in Latin often meant "harmfully". So witnesses who perjure themselves do harm to the truth by knowingly telling a lie. Not all lying is perjury, only lying under oath; so perjury generally takes place either in court or before a legislative body such as Congress. To avoid committing perjury, a witness or defendant may "take the Fifth": that is, refuse to answer a question because the answer might be an admission of guilt, and the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution forbids forcing a citizen to admit to being guilty of a crime.

Examples of perjury in a Sentence

He was found guilty of perjury.

Recent Examples on the Web

Former court clerk pleads guilty Hill pleaded guilty to perjury, obstructing justice and misconduct in office and was sentenced to three years' probation and 100 hours of community service. —Marlene Lenthang, ABC News, 14 May 2026

As expected, Altman’s testimony, delivered under threat of perjury, was fascinating for a number of reasons. —Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 14 May 2026

Hill, the former court clerk, pleads guilty to obstruction of justice and perjury, for providing access to graphic photographs from Murdaugh's case and lying about it. —Bill Chappell, NPR, 13 May 2026

Becky Hill, the clerk in his trial, was charged with misconduct and perjury in May 2025, according to The New York Times. —Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 13 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for perjury

• surgery
• cryosurgery
• microsurgery
• neurosurgery
• psychosurgery
• radiosurgery

Kids Definition

perjury

noun

per·​ju·​ry ˈpərj-(ə-)rē 

plural perjuries

: the act or crime of swearing to what one knows is untrue

Legal Definition

perjury

noun

per·​ju·​ry ˈpər-jə-rē 

plural perjuries

: the act or crime of knowingly making a false statement (as about a material matter) while under oath or bound by an affirmation or other officially prescribed declaration that what one says, writes, or claims is true compare false swearing

Etymology

Anglo-French perjurie, parjurie, from Latin perjurium, from perjurus deliberately giving false testimony, from per- detrimental to + jur-, jus law