indict

verb

in·​dict in-ˈdīt 

indicted; indicting; indicts

1

transitive + intransitive : to formally charge (someone) with a crime by the finding of a jury (such as a grand jury) : to formally accuse (someone) of a crime in an indictment

If either the IRS or the FBI decides a suspect has committed a crime, a lot of hurdles must be leaped before that individual is put in prison. The agents must gather evidence, persuade an independent prosecutor to present the evidence to a grand jury, make sure the evidence is convincing enough so that the grand jury will indict the suspect, and then present the evidence to a regular jury that decides whether the suspect is innocent or guilty.

—David Burnham

Traditionally the grand jury consisted of 23 persons with the favorable vote of a majority needed to indict. Today, many states use a somewhat smaller grand jury (e.g., 12) and some require more than a simple majority to indict.

—Wayne R. LaFave and Jerold H. Israel

2

transitive : to accuse (someone or something) of a weakness, failing, or wrong action

… I indict those citizens whose easy consciences condone such wrongdoings.

—Franklin D. Roosevelt

The relation between freedom and literacy became the compelling theme of the slave narratives, the great body of printed books that ex-slaves generated to assert their common humanity with white Americans and to indict the system that had oppressed them.

—Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Past studies have indicted high radon levels for an excess of lung cancers among underground hard-rock miners …

—J. Raloff

indicter noun

or indictor

in-ˈdī-tər 

Synonyms of indict

• accuse
• prosecute

Examples of indict in a Sentence

A grand jury is expected to indict him for murder.

the grand jury could indict the mayor for fraud and embezzlement

Recent Examples on the Web

Trump and 18 of his allies were indicted in the case on election interference charges in 2023, but the case was dismissed in November 2025. — Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 12 July 2026

An 18-year-old has been indicted in connection with a deadly high-speed police chase in DeKalb County that prosecutors say claimed the life of a grandmother and seriously injured her teenage grandson earlier this year. — Cbs News Atlanta Digital Team, CBS News, 12 July 2026

But on August 11, after Ethel appeared before the grand jury that had indicted Julius and refused to answer any questions, she, too, was arrested. — Amy Weiss-Meyer, The Atlantic, 10 July 2026

Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, was indicted last Thursday on a single felony count of property destruction. — Michael Kunzelman, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

alteration of earlier indite, from Middle English inditen, from Anglo-French enditer to write, point out, indict — more at indite

First Known Use

1531, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for indict

• affright
• airtight
• albite
• alight
• alright
• aplite
• aright
• bainite
• birthright
• bobwhite
• bornite
• bullfight

Video

Video: Why is there a 'c' in 'indict'?

And who put it there, anyway?

Kids Definition

indict

verb

in·​dict in-ˈdīt 

: to charge with an offense or crime : accuse

indictable

-ə-bəl

adjective

Legal Definition

indict

transitive verb

in·​dict in-ˈdīt 

: to charge with a crime by the finding or presentment of a grand jury in due form of law compare accuse, arraign, charge

Etymology

alteration of earlier indite, from Anglo-French enditer, from Old French, to write down, ultimately from Latin indicere to proclaim, from in- toward + dicere to say