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

Herrera was subsequently charged with evading arrest or detention, unlawful carrying of weapons, disorderly conduct, and tampering or fabricating with evidence, according to the outlet. —Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 26 Dec. 2025

Online court records show that Kyle is facing 10 charges, including domestic assault, assault on a law enforcement officer, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, public intoxication and retaliation for past actions. —Liza Esquibias, PEOPLE, 23 Dec. 2025

Johnson-Hunt was charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and obstruction. —Dan Raby, CBS News, 23 Dec. 2025

Later that night, he was booked into the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center on charges including domestic assault, public intoxication, and disorderly conduct. —Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Dec. 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.