plead

verb

pleaded ˈplē-dəd How to pronounce plead (audio) or pled also plead ˈpled How to pronounce plead (audio) ; pleading

intransitive verb

1
: to argue a case or cause in a court of law
2
a
: to make an allegation in an action or other legal proceeding
especially : to answer the previous pleading of the other party by denying facts therein stated or by alleging new facts
b
: to conduct pleadings
3
: to make a plea of a specified nature
plead not guilty
4
a
: to argue for or against a claim
b
: to entreat or appeal earnestly

transitive verb

1
: to maintain (a case, a cause, etc.) in a court of law or other tribunal
2
: to allege in or by way of a legal plea
3
: to offer as a plea usually in defense, apology, or excuse
pleadable adjective
pleader noun
pleadingly adverb

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Pleaded vs. Pled

Plead belongs to the same class of verbs as bleed, lead, and feed, and like them it has a past and past participle with a short vowel spelled pled (or sometimes plead, which is pronounced alike). From the beginning, pled has faced competition from the regular form pleaded, which eventually came to predominate in mainstream British English. Pled was and is used in Scottish English, which is likely how it came to American English. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, pled was attacked by many American usage commentators (perhaps because it was not in good British use). Though still sometimes criticized, it is fully respectable today and both pled (or plead) and pleaded are in good use in the U.S. In legal use (such as “pleaded guilty,” “pled guilty”), both forms are standard, though pleaded is used with greater frequency. In nonlegal use (such as “pleaded for help”), pleaded appears more commonly, though pled is also considered standard.

Examples of plead in a Sentence

He begged and pleaded, but she would not change her mind. She couldn't afford a lawyer to plead her case. “How do you plead?” asked the judge. “We plead guilty, Your Honor.” He agreed to plead to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
Recent Examples on the Web According to the Independent, Goldsmith pleaded guilty, was fined £5,000 (or about $6,345) and given a 12-month community order with 20 sessions of rehabilitation. Charlotte Phillipp, Peoplemag, 5 Mar. 2024 Appearing in court later in the morning, Weisselberg pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury. El M. Calabrese, Washington Post, 4 Mar. 2024 Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty to all his crimes and is serving a life-without-parole sentence. Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, 4 Mar. 2024 All have pleaded not guilty to some 40 felony counts. Greg Allen, NPR, 1 Mar. 2024 Bridges has repeatedly said to The Observer and in general that his preference is to stay with the organization that drafted him and brought him back despite him pleading no contest to felony domestic violence. Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 1 Mar. 2024 Chambers, 30, of Milwaukee, pleaded guilty to second-degree reckless homicide as a party to a crime and to neglecting a child where the consequence is death. Chris Ramirez, Journal Sentinel, 1 Mar. 2024 Gutierrez has pleaded not guilty to felony involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering charges. Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 29 Feb. 2024 Griffin said Binance was the most popular exchange, even after the company and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, pleaded guilty in November to criminal anti-money-laundering and sanctions charges and agreed to pay $4.3 billion to resolve a long-running investigation by prosecutors and regulators. Zeke Faux, Fortune, 29 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'plead.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English plaiden, pleden "to contend legally, argue in court, bring suit, answer a charge," borrowed from Anglo-French plaider, pleider, pleder "to maintain (a plea), bring an action against" (also continental Old French), verbal derivative of plaid, plé "action at law, plea."

Note: Middle English also had with the same senses pleten, from Anglo-French pleiter, pleter, formed from the variant noun pleit with final t (presumably evident when a vowel-initial word followed in Old French), which continued into early Modern English as plete, pleat.

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of plead was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near plead

Cite this Entry

“Plead.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plead. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

plead

verb
pleaded ˈplēd-əd How to pronounce plead (audio) or pled
ˈpled
; pleading
1
: to argue a case in a court of law
2
: to answer to a claim or charge in a court of law
plead not guilty
3
a
: to argue for or against a claim
plead a case before a jury
b
: to appeal earnestly : beg
4
: to offer as a defense, apology, or excuse
plead sickness
pleader noun

Legal Definition

plead

verb
pleaded or pled also plead ˈpled How to pronounce plead (audio) ; pleading

intransitive verb

1
: to make an allegation in an action or other legal proceeding
especially : to answer the pleading or charge of the other party by denying facts therein stated or by alleging new facts
the defendant shall be given a copy of the indictment or information before the defendant is called upon to plead Kansas Statutes Annotated
see also alternative
2
: to make a specific plea
plead not guilty
also : to make a plea of guilty
agreed to plead to the lesser charge

transitive verb

1
: to allege in or by way of a pleading : state in a pleading
unless plaintiff pleads and proves facts showing actual malice, he cannot recover punitive damagesKumaran v. Brotman, 617 N.E.2d 191 (1993)
plead a case of fraudulent conveyance
2
: to offer as an excuse
cannot plead ignorance of the law
pleadable adjective
pleader noun
Etymology

Anglo-French plaider to argue in a court of law, from Old French plaid legal action, trial more at plea

More from Merriam-Webster on plead

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