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

Burnam has a related lawsuit against O’Hare and the county in federal court as well as a request to dismiss the charges placed against him for disrupting a meeting and disorderly conduct. — Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Sep. 2026

April Michelle Disspain was issued warrants for simple battery, disrupting or interfering with the operation of a public-school bus and disorderly conduct. — Dan Raby, CBS News, 18 Sep. 2026

Lundeen was subsequently charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct, according to court records. — Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2026

Jones said that while Kiffin’s exit from Ole Miss was controversial, Oxford police did not field any disorderly conduct calls when Kiffin took the LSU job. — Christopher Kamrani, New York Times, 15 Sep. 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.