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

Wallen was booked into jail early Monday on three counts of reckless endangerment and one count of disorderly conduct in connection to the Sunday night incident, the Metro Nashville Police Department reported. —Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2024

Worcester, 28, of Goose Creek, S.C., was charged with first-degree terroristic threatening, second-degree battery, resisting arrest, possessing instrument of crime, obstructing governmental operations and disorderly conduct in connection with the incident on Aug. 21, 2022. —Sadie Lacicero, arkansasonline.com, 10 Apr. 2024

He was arrested at a different Nashville bar for disorderly conduct in 2020. —Avi Selk, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024

Miller, who uses they/them pronouns, has in recent years been accused of assault, abuse, and grooming children, as well as arrested for alleged disorderly conduct and harassment. —Jessica Wang, EW.com, 29 Mar. 2024

Myers was charged with assault and disorderly conduct in Circleville. —Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 12 Mar. 2024

In 2023, Ryan agreed to a plea deal, pleading no contest to a single disorderly conduct charge. —The Arizona Republic, 26 Feb. 2024

He was censured twice for, among other things, threatening to sic county inspectors on a gas station owner and throwing a fit at Legoland, which led to his later conviction for disorderly conduct. —Luke Nozicka, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024

The charges filed against McGovern included interference with official acts and disorderly conduct obstructing streets, the more serious of the two misdemeanors. —Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1786, in the meaning defined above

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.