grand jury

noun

: a jury that examines accusations against persons charged with crime and if the evidence warrants makes formal charges on which the accused persons are later tried

grand juror noun

Examples of grand jury in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Prosecutors could now ask a magistrate judge at Bryant’s Wednesday hearing to find probable cause and re-present the case to another grand jury. —Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 10 Sep. 2025

Indictment leans heavily on cooperators On May 21, a grand jury in Tennessee returned a two-count indictment alleging a conspiracy to transport aliens and unlawful transportation of undocumented aliens. —Nick Penzenstadler, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025

Burns was indicted by a grand jury in Fayetteville in November and pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography in February, according to court documents. —Nwa Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Online, 6 Sep. 2025

In 2010, out of about 162,000 cases prosecuted in federal courts, grand juries did not indict 11 defendants, according to a FiveThirtyEight report published in 2014, citing the Bureau of Justice Statistics. —Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 6 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for grand jury

• buri
• fury

Kids Definition

grand jury

noun

: a jury that chiefly examines accusations of crime made against persons and if the evidence warrants makes formal charges on which the accused persons are later tried

Legal Definition

grand jury

noun

: a jury that examines accusations against persons charged with crime and if the evidence warrants makes formal charges on which the accused persons are later tried see also no bill and true bill at bill sense 3b, indictment compare petit jury, special grand jury