criminal law

noun

: the law of crimes and their punishments

Examples of criminal law in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Bianco and his allies insist the difference is evidence of maleficence, and that criminal law authorizes the sheriff to sidestep the state’s detailed election code and the attorney general’s sweeping authority to get to the bottom of it. — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026

Joe sponsored and advanced important legislation in civil law, criminal law and procedure, family law, estates and trusts, corporate law and real estate. — Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 24 Aug. 2026

Extraterritorial Reach Over the years, the United Kingdom’s failure to prevent corporate criminal laws have been criticized because of their extraterritorial reach. — Nana Ama Sarfo, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026

Many experts are skeptical of the challengers’ claims of a powerful president that gets to unilaterally shape enforcement even outside of criminal law. — Michael Phillis, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026

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.