perjury

noun

per·​ju·​ry ˈpər-jə-rē 

ˈpərj-rē

: the voluntary violation of an oath or vow either by swearing to what is untrue or by omission to do what has been promised under oath : false swearing

Did you know?

The prefix per- in Latin often meant "harmfully". So witnesses who perjure themselves do harm to the truth by knowingly telling a lie. Not all lying is perjury, only lying under oath; so perjury generally takes place either in court or before a legislative body such as Congress. To avoid committing perjury, a witness or defendant may "take the Fifth": that is, refuse to answer a question because the answer might be an admission of guilt, and the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution forbids forcing a citizen to admit to being guilty of a crime.

Examples of perjury in a Sentence

He was found guilty of perjury.

Recent Examples on the Web

Penton faces an additional charge of perjury for allegedly lying to the grand jury. —Aaron Curtis, Boston Herald, 26 Feb. 2026

Owens, 35, was charged last year in Maricopa County, Arizona, with a total 14 felony counts including fraud, forgery, perjury, tampering with physical evidence, theft by extortion and taking the identity of another. —Martha Ross, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026

The District Attorney’s Office charged Price in June 2023 with multiple felony charges of grand theft by embezzlement, conflict of interest and perjury. —City News Service, Daily News, 19 Feb. 2026

Prosecutors dropped the perjury charge as part of the plea deal with McFadden. —Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 19 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for perjury

• surgery
• cryosurgery
• microsurgery
• neurosurgery
• psychosurgery
• radiosurgery

Kids Definition

perjury

noun

per·​ju·​ry ˈpərj-(ə-)rē 

plural perjuries

: the act or crime of swearing to what one knows is untrue

Legal Definition

perjury

noun

per·​ju·​ry ˈpər-jə-rē 

plural perjuries

: the act or crime of knowingly making a false statement (as about a material matter) while under oath or bound by an affirmation or other officially prescribed declaration that what one says, writes, or claims is true compare false swearing

Etymology

Anglo-French perjurie, parjurie, from Latin perjurium, from perjurus deliberately giving false testimony, from per- detrimental to + jur-, jus law