plea

noun \ ˈplē \

Updated on: 16 Apr 2018

Definition of plea

1 : a legal suit or action

2 : an allegation made by a party in support of a cause: such as

a : an allegation of fact — compare demurrer

b (1) : a defendant's answer to a plaintiff's declaration in common-law practice

(2) : an accused person's answer to a charge or indictment in criminal practice

c : a plea of guilty to an indictment

3 : something offered by way of excuse or justification

left early with the plea of a headache

4 : an earnest entreaty : appeal

their plea for understanding must be answered

See plea defined for English-language learners

See plea defined for kids

Examples of plea in a Sentence

We are making a plea to all companies to stop polluting the environment.
The defendant entered a plea of not guilty.

Recent Examples of plea from the Web

Mark Henry's origin story and his plea In an emotional Hall of Fame speech, Henry recounted the time that Andre the Giant picked him up as a child after Henry had tripped over the barricade at a wrestling show.

— gene guillot, NOLA.com, "The best 34 parts of an awesome WrestleMania week," 12 Apr. 2018
Seeking to portray Lasha as a chronic liar, Cosby's lawyers won permission from a judge to tell jurors about her 2007 guilty plea for filing a false police report in Arizona.

— Fox News, "Bill Cosby accuser calls fallen comedian 'a serial rapist' on the witness stand," 11 Apr. 2018
Seeking to portray Lasha as a chronic liar, Cosby’s lawyers won permission from a judge to tell jurors about her 2007 guilty plea for filing a false police report in Arizona.

— michael r. sisak, BostonGlobe.com, "On witness stand, accuser calls Bill Cosby a ‘serial rapist’," 11 Apr. 2018
When another of the five additional women testifies, Judge Steven T. O’Neill ruled Wednesday morning, Cosby’s lawyers can question her about her guilty plea to making a false statement police in 2007.

— laura mccrystal, Philly.com, "Bill Cosby accuser calls him 'serial rapist' from witness stand," 11 Apr. 2018
In November, Michael sought to withdraw his guilty plea, saying his attorney pressured him to admit guilt.

— allison kite, kansascity, "'Horrific' abuse of KCK boy fed to pigs drives bill to improve Missouri child welfare | The Kansas City Star," 7 Apr. 2018
Leftist groups have reacted with anger to the judge’s decision to jail him, as well as an earlier ruling by Brazil’s Supreme Court Thursday not to grant his plea to protect him from arrest.

— jeffrey t. lewis, WSJ, "Brazil’s Ex-President Turns Himself in to Serve Jail Term," 7 Apr. 2018
His pleas were quietly rejected and the pine did its job for decades, protecting the left side of the fairway.

— chris chase, For The Win, "Ranking the back nine holes at The Masters, from great to greatest," 5 Apr. 2018
In return for his guilty plea, Dunning received a 25 year prison sentence and a chance to appeal the ruling, court documents showed.

— mitch mitchell, star-telegram, "Court denies district attorney's bid to halt new trial for man in prison for 21 years | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 2 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'plea.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of plea

Middle English ple, plede, from Anglo-French plai, pleit from Medieval Latin placitum, from Latin, decision, decree, from neuter of placitus, past participle of placēre to please, be decided — more at please

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

plea Synonyms

Synonyms

alibi, apology, defense, excuse, justification, reason;

cop-out, out;

acknowledgment (or acknowledgement), atonement, confession;

extenuation, palliation;

Synonym Discussion of plea

apology, apologia, excuse, plea, pretext, alibi mean matter offered in explanation or defense. apology usually applies to an expression of regret for a mistake or wrong with implied admission of guilt or fault and with or without reference to mitigating or extenuating circumstances.

- said by way of apology that he would have met them if he could

apologia implies not admission of guilt or regret but a desire to make clear the grounds for some course, belief, or position.

- his speech was an apologia for his foreign policy

excuse implies an intent to avoid or remove blame or censure.

- used illness as an excuse for missing the meeting

plea stresses argument or appeal for understanding or sympathy or mercy.

- her usual plea that she was nearsighted

pretext suggests subterfuge and the offering of false reasons or motives in excuse or explanation.

- used any pretext to get out of work

alibi implies a desire to shift blame or evade punishment and imputes mere plausibility to the explanation.

- his alibi failed to stand scrutiny

PLEA Defined for English Language Learners

plea

noun

Definition of plea for English Language Learners

: a serious and emotional request for something
law : a statement in which a person who has been accused of a crime says in court that he or she is guilty or not guilty of the crime
: a statement in which a person says that he or she is guilty of a particular crime : a plea of guilty

PLEA Defined for Kids

plea

noun \ ˈplē \

Definition of plea for Students

1 : an earnest appeal

The prisoner made a plea for mercy.

2 : something offered as a defense or excuse

Law Dictionary

plea

noun \ ˈplē \

legal Definition of plea

1 a : an allegation of fact in civil litigation made in response to a claim — compare demurrer

b : a defendant's answer to a plaintiff's claim in civil litigation

Note: Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and in states where they have been adopted, civil pleas are abolished, and answers and motions are used instead. Such pleas were used at common law.

— dilatory plea \ˈdi-lə-ˌtōr-ē-\

: a common-law plea which is intended to defeat the pending action or proceeding without involving any decision on the merits of the case

— plea in abatement

: a plea entered by a party seeking postponement or dismissal of an action by setting forth some matter or defect regarding procedure, jurisdiction, or timing — called also plea of abatement

— plea in bar

: a plea that alleges the existence of an absolute bar (as a statute of limitations) to an action

— plea of abatement

: plea in abatement in this entry

2 a : an accused party's answer to a criminal charge or indictment

b : a plea of guilty

3 : an earnest entreaty

Origin and Etymology of plea

Anglo-French plei plai legal action, trial, from Old French plait plaid, from Medieval Latin placitum, from Latin, decision, decree, from neuter of placitus, past participle of placēre to please, be decided