disorderly conduct

noun

: a petty offense chiefly against public order and decency that falls short of an indictable misdemeanor

Examples of disorderly conduct in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Karen Gaus, 42, was arrested and charged with recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct in connection with the incident, officials said. —Michael Guise, CBS News, 12 Dec. 2025

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Newsweek that Nevarez-Porras, a Mexican national, had a criminal history that included battery, assault, criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct. —Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2025

Authorities issued both parties a court summons for disorderly conduct. —Frederick Dreier, Outside, 6 Dec. 2025

After the meeting, a Port Washington police officer told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the woman was given a municipal ticket for disorderly conduct. —Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 2 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1786, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for disorderly conduct

• abduct
• construct
• deduct
• destruct
• induct
• instruct
• obstruct
• aqueduct
• deconstruct
• reconstruct
• bucked
• chucked

Legal Definition

disorderly conduct

noun

dis·​or·​der·​ly conduct

: conduct that is likely to lead to a disturbance of the public peace or that offends public decency

also : the petty offense of engaging in disorderly conduct compare breach of the peace

Note: The term disorderly conduct is used in statutes to identify various acts against the public peace. It has been held to include the use of obscene language in public, the blocking of public ways, and the making of threats. A statute must identify acts that constitute disorderly conduct with sufficient clarity in order to avoid being held unconstitutional because of vagueness.