Definition of prosecution
1 : the act or process of prosecuting; specifically : the institution and continuance of a criminal suit involving the process of pursuing formal charges against an offender to final judgment
2 : the party by whom criminal proceedings are instituted or conducted
3 obsolete : pursuit
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Examples of prosecution in a Sentence
There has been an increase in prosecutions for gun-related crimes.
The defendant is awaiting prosecution.
The prosecution called their first witness.
The prosecution rests, Your Honor.
The defense told the jury that the prosecution had not proved its case.
Recent Examples of prosecution from the Web
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Argentine officials are seeking data from Antigua’s Meinl Bank, said Anthony Armstrong, Antigua’s director of public prosecutions.
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Discovery is the procedure through which defendants find out information on the prosecution’s case.
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The prosecution pointed to corroborating evidence, including contemporaneous suspicions from adults at the school and other accusers dating back decades.
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Top federal prosecutors serve under the direction of the U.S. attorney general as the nation's principal litigators, also handling the prosecution and defense of civil cases to which the United States is a party.
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His platform to pursue fewer cases and focus resources on major offenders also runs counter to the message from U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a conservative Republican who calls for more aggressive prosecution.
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Days later, Luisa Ortega, Venezuela’s chief of public prosecutions, delivered her yearly address to the press and top members of her staff.
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The prosecution wants the judge to impose numerous requirements, including hundreds of hours of community service, fines of $1,000 for each of the three charges, and a contribution of $250,000 to a community fund.
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The irony of that request was not lost on Imdadun Rahmat, chairman of the rights commission, who said the panel had not yet determined if the prosecution amounted to government overreach.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'prosecution'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
1545
First Known Use of prosecution
1545
Other Legal Terms
PROSECUTION Defined for English Language Learners
prosecution
playDefinition of prosecution for English Language Learners
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: the act or process of holding a trial against a person who is accused of a crime to see if that person is guilty
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the prosecution : the side of a legal case which argues that a person who is accused of a crime is guilty : the lawyer or lawyers who prosecute someone in a court case
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: the act of doing or continuing to do something
PROSECUTION Defined for Kids
prosecution
playDefinition of prosecution for Students
1 : the act of carrying on a legal action against a person accused of a crime in court
2 : the lawyers in a criminal case trying to prove that the accused person is guilty The prosecution will try to prove it was murder.
Law Dictionary
prosecution
playLegal Definition of prosecution
1 : the act or process of prosecuting; especially : the institution and carrying on of a criminal action involving the process of seeking formal charges against a person and pursuing those charges to final judgment
2 : the party by whom criminal proceedings are instituted or conducted — compare defense 3, plaintiff
Learn More about prosecution
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See words that rhyme with prosecution Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for prosecution Spanish Central: Translation of prosecution Nglish: Translation of prosecution for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of prosecution for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about prosecution
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