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

He was arrested hours later and charged with two counts of disorderly conduct, fifth-degree criminal mischief and two counts of third-degree harassment. —Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 7 Nov. 2025

Per the outlets, he was booked on disorderly conduct, threat of violence, and trespassing. —Daniela Avila, PEOPLE, 5 Nov. 2025

The Nashville Tennessean reported that Snider was booked on charges of disorderly conduct, threat of violence and criminal trespassing. —Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 4 Nov. 2025

He was charged with an infraction disorderly conduct, and threat of violence and suspicion of criminal trespassing, both Class B misdemeanors in Utah. —Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 4 Nov. 2025

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.