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

Tammy Machado is suspected of mortgage fraud and two counts of willfully making a false return under penalty of perjury. —Sacbee.com, 11 Apr. 2026

Magda Mahmoud Elsagher and her husband, Mohamed Metwalli Elshazli, are each charged with one count of wrongfully obtaining assistance and perjury. —Nick Lentz, CBS News, 10 Apr. 2026

On March 9, prosecutors in Platte County, Wyoming, arrested Morgranroth and charged her with 10 counts of forgery and perjury related to her opposition to the Chugwater energy project. —Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 8 Apr. 2026

Investigators had video access hours after the shooting but didn’t review it for weeks after charging the men, sparking an investigation into potential officer perjury. —Steve Karnowski, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 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