criminal law

noun

: the law of crimes and their punishments

Examples of criminal law in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The recent New York meeting expanded discussions beyond traditional military concerns to include human rights law, criminal law, and broader ethical considerations. —Doc Louallen, ABC News, 20 May 2025

The administration claims that some students whose visas have been revoked were either Hamas supporters or violated criminal laws. —Daniel Hall, The Conversation, 24 Apr. 2025

Malik revealed that his goal was to practice law, specifically focusing on criminal law and personal injury and criminal. —Francesca Gariano, People.com, 1 Apr. 2025

Standard Chartered Industry: Banking Size of company: 75,000+ Most notable skills: Commercial banking, criminal law, investment banking Most common job titles: Business development officer, business analyst, product team manager 8. —Ernestine Siu, CNBC, 15 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1672, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for criminal law

• avoirdupois
• aa
• aha
• bashaw
• bradshaw
• byelaw
• bylaw
• chainsaw
• cheraw
• coleslaw
• crenshaw
• dada

Legal Definition

criminal law

noun

: public law that deals with crimes and their prosecution compare civil law

Note: Substantive criminal law defines crimes, and procedural criminal law sets down criminal procedure. Substantive criminal law was originally common law for the most part. It was later codified and is now found in federal and state statutory law.