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

Sean Keenan is charged with counts of terroristic threats, ethnic intimidation, harassment and disorderly conduct, District Attorney Tanner Rouse said in a news release. — Joe Holden, CBS News, 28 July 2026

The 60-year-old has been charged with assault with intent to murder, two counts of assault and battery with a firearm, assault with a dangerous weapon, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building and disorderly conduct, the outlets reported. — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 26 July 2026

Over the next few years, he was charged with multiple counts of disorderly conduct, trespassing and violating probation. — Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2026

Jacobs was arrested on May 26, 2026, in connection to a domestic dispute that occurred days earlier, leading to bookings for preliminary charges that included domestic abuse battery, disorderly conduct, and felony strangulation/suffocation. — Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026

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.