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

Delarosa is well known to the New Kensington police, having been arrested and convicted time and again in the past two decades for drug possession, disorderly conduct and fights. — Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026

He was charged with reckless endangerment, graffiti, public lewdness, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, the NYPD said, according to NBC News. — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 4 Aug. 2026

Galymzhan Abaildayev is facing charges of reckless endangerment, graffiti, public lewdness, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, the New York Police Department said in a statement to NBC News on Monday. — Doha Madani, NBC news, 3 Aug. 2026

Politico and the Washington Post have previously reported on Miller’s run-ins with the law as a young adult, including charges, which were later dismissed, for underage drinking, assault, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. — Chad De Guzman, Time, 3 Aug. 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.