probable cause

noun

: a reasonable ground for supposing that a charge is well-founded

Examples of probable cause in a Sentence

The lawyer argued that there was a lack of probable cause for a search warrant.

The police had probable cause to arrest him.

Recent Examples on the Web

And in an ongoing court case related to that, this week, a federal judge said there is probable cause to find the government in criminal contempt for violating his order at the time to immediately pause those deportations. —CBS News, 20 Apr. 2025

One judge this week said there was probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt for not taking active steps to follow an order to stop the deportation of Venezuelan migrants to the notorious CECOT Prison in El Salvador. —ABC News, 20 Apr. 2025

Incidents include Piccolo reportedly masturbating in front of a store's assistant manager and exposing himself to multiple people near a store's fitting rooms, according to probable cause affidavits obtained by Newsweek. —Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Apr. 2025

Boasberg on Wednesday found probable cause to hold the administration in contempt for willfully disobeying his order. —Lauren Irwin, The Hill, 17 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1676, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for probable cause

• magnetopause
• ahs
• baas
• clause
• claws
• coz
• daws
• draws
• flaws
• gauze
• gnaws
• haws

Legal Definition

probable cause

see cause sense 2