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Definition of prosecute
prosecuted
;prosecuting
transitive verb
1 : to follow to the end : pursue until finished prosecute a war
2 : to engage in : perform
3a : to bring legal action against for redress or punishment of a crime or violation of lawb : to institute legal proceedings with reference to prosecute a claim
intransitive verb
: to institute and carry on a legal suit or prosecution
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Examples of prosecute in a Sentence
The store's owner agreed not to prosecute if the boy returned the stolen goods.
The case is being prosecuted by the assistant district attorney.
She criticized the government for the way it has prosecuted the war.
Recent Examples of prosecute from the Web
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If the charges are backed by two-thirds of Congress, Temer will be prosecuted at the Supreme Court and obliged to stand down as president for 180 days.
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Civil rights groups said investigating and prosecuting hate crimes alone would be insufficient.
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Three acting U.S. attorneys in Texas — John Parker, Richard Durbin and Brit Featherston — all said their offices continue to aggressively prosecute cases but acknowledged that a political appointee would carry more clout.
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The FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Beardsley Mark prosecuted.
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Staff at the jail will work with medical providers, probation, judges and prosecuting attorneys as people move through the program, Frey said, with treatment likely being an important part of being released.
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In March, after nearly three years investigating, Fernández Rundle declined to prosecute four corrections officers implicated in Rainey’s death.
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The attorney general was assigned as the prosecuting agency in that matter, which is not criminal in nature and could —- at most —
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While there, Garrett became a special assistant United States attorney, and his responsibilities included investigating and prosecuting national security and counterintelligence cases.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'prosecute'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of prosecute
Middle English, from Latin prosecutus, past participle of prosequi to pursue — more at pursue
PROSECUTE Defined for English Language Learners
prosecute
playDefinition of prosecute for English Language Learners
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law : to hold a trial against a person who is accused of a crime to see if that person is guilty
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: to work as a lawyer to try to prove a case against someone accused of a crime
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: to continue to do (something) : to proceed with (something)
PROSECUTE Defined for Kids
prosecute
playDefinition of prosecute for Students
prosecuted
;prosecuting
1 : to carry on a legal action against an accused person to prove his or her guilt
2 : to follow up to the end : keep at prosecute a war
Law Dictionary
prosecute
playLegal Definition of prosecute
prosecuted
prosecuting
transitive verb
1 : to institute and carry forward legal action against for redress or especially punishment of a crime
2 : to institute and carry on a lawsuit with reference to an action must be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest — Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 17(a)
intransitive verb
: to institute and carry on a civil or criminal action decided not to prosecute
Origin and Etymology of prosecute
Latin prosecutus, past participle of prosequi to pursue
Learn More about prosecute
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for prosecute Spanish Central: Translation of prosecute Nglish: Translation of prosecute for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of prosecute for Arabic speakers
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