prosecutor

noun

pros·​e·​cu·​tor ˈprä-si-ˌkyü-tər 

1

: a person who institutes a prosecution before a court

2

: prosecuting attorney

Examples of prosecutor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That same day, after seeing the prosecutor on TV, Thom fired off an email. —Tresa Baldas, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2025

Santos was expelled from Congress in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion and cast off to find for himself as prosecutors closed in. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 27 Apr. 2025

At the dawn of the Al Capone era, prosecutor William McSwiggin was killed in a hail of machine gun bullets outside a Cicero tavern The McSwiggin murder was the kind of story that editors once thought sold newspapers. —Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 27 Apr. 2025

Then the reform-minded district attorney of Multnomah County, where Portland is located, was ousted by one of his own prosecutors, in a ballot seen as a referendum for greater accountability. —Jason Motlagh, Rolling Stone, 27 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for prosecutor

• persecutor
• commuter
• computer
• polluter
• recruiter
• microcomputer
• minicomputer
• supercomputer
• neuter
• pewter
• router
• scooter

Kids Definition

prosecutor

noun

pros·​e·​cu·​tor ˈpräs-i-ˌkyüt-ər 

: a person (as a district attorney) who prosecutes especially a criminal case as lawyer for the state

Legal Definition

prosecutor

noun

pros·​e·​cu·​tor ˈprä-si-ˌkyü-tər 

1

: a person who institutes a prosecution (as by making an affidavit or complaint charging the defendant)

2

: a government attorney who presents the state's case against the defendant in a criminal prosecution