codefendant
noun
co·de·fen·dant
ˌkō-di-ˈfen-dənt 
in legal circles often -ˌdant
variants
or co-defendant
plural codefendants or co-defendants
: a defendant in the same lawsuit or criminal prosecution as another defendant or group of defendants : a joint defendant
… the defendant argued that it was plain error for the trial court to have permitted the prosecution to treat his co-defendant as hostile …—
State v. Saenz, 370 P.3d 1278 (2016)
State v. Saenz, 370 P.3d 1278 (2016)Examples of codefendant in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The codefendant, Moudy, who is not the trigger puller, got a 45-year sentence.
—
Kelly Werthmann,
CBS News,
19 May 2026
Santamaria’s codefendants, Hershel Tsikman and Hafizullah Ebady, were sentenced earlier in May to 10 years and eight years, respectively, behind bars.
—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
19 May 2026
Baldoni and his codefendants have repeatedly denied the actress' claims; Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios and their publicists sued The New York Times for libel on Dec. 31, 2024, but the action was later dismissed by the judge.
—
Kimi Robinson,
USA Today,
4 May 2026
Altman and OpenAI president Greg Brockman, a codefendant, were about 10 feet away in the public gallery behind their attorneys, with Altman alternating between looking at the judge and down toward the floor.
—
Paresh Dave,
Wired News,
28 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for codefendant
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Kelly Werthmann,
CBS News,
19 May 2026
Santamaria’s codefendants, Hershel Tsikman and Hafizullah Ebady, were sentenced earlier in May to 10 years and eight years, respectively, behind bars.
—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
19 May 2026
Baldoni and his codefendants have repeatedly denied the actress' claims; Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios and their publicists sued The New York Times for libel on Dec. 31, 2024, but the action was later dismissed by the judge.
—
Kimi Robinson,
USA Today,
4 May 2026
Altman and OpenAI president Greg Brockman, a codefendant, were about 10 feet away in the public gallery behind their attorneys, with Altman alternating between looking at the judge and down toward the floor.
—
Paresh Dave,
Wired News,
28 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for codefendant
Cite this Entry
“Codefendant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/codefendant. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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