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

As part of a nationwide investigation, multiple others were previously indicted in the theft and sale of human body parts, with several of them entering guilty pleas, according to Monday's news release. —Michael Guise, CBS News, 23 Dec. 2025

And as Kennedy points out, why does anybody trust Pfizer or any other large pharmaceutical company when they’ve repeatedly been indicted and convicted of fraud and had to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines? —David Zane Mairowitz, Rolling Stone, 22 Dec. 2025

Although he had long been estranged from his father, Kyle spoke out after Todd and Julie were indicted on charges of tax evasion in 2019. —Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 22 Dec. 2025

Two Florida teens will be tried as adults after a grand jury indicted them for premeditated murder in the killing of a 14-year-old girl who was shot multiple times and set on fire. —Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 22 Dec. 2025

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