✨📕 The NEWThe NEW Collegiate Dictionary, 12th Edition Over 5,000 words added — Buy Now! Collegiate DictionaryBuy Now!

capital punishment

noun

: punishment by death : the practice of killing people as punishment for serious crimes

called also death penalty

Examples of capital punishment in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Therefore, capital punishment is not considered a penalty for sedition. David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 21 Nov. 2025 Hood, an Old Catholic priest based in Little Rock, has been arrested multiple times for his activism against capital punishment. Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 13 Nov. 2025 He was initially sentenced to be executed, but the California Supreme Court overturned that sentence because the judge had dismissed jurors who opposed capital punishment. Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 12 Nov. 2025 In 1853, Farwell signed a law that abolished the death penalty in Wisconsin and replaced it with a penalty of life imprisonment, making Wisconsin the first sate to permanently abolish capital punishment for all crimes. Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 23 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for capital punishment

Word History

First Known Use

1581, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of capital punishment was in 1581

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Capital punishment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/capital%20punishment. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

Legal Definition

capital punishment

noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!