the prosecution
noun
: 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
The prosecution called their first witness.
The defense told the jury that the prosecution had not proved its case.
—often used before another nounprosecution attorneys/lawyers
Examples of the prosecution in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Prosecution failures At the center of the misconduct in the Smith case was the prosecution team’s failure to disclose the use of jailhouse informants Jeffrey Platt and Paul Martin to extract a confession from Smith.
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Tony Saavedra, Oc Register, 26 Jan. 2026
The following month, just before she was scheduled to compete at the World Championships, Harding pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hinder the prosecution.
—Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 26 Jan. 2026
There’s both the question of whether the law would allow a prosecution and whether as a matter of pure logistics, the prosecution is viable.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
It is sealed in a plastic bag stapled to an affidavit, which explains that the drive contains evidence the prosecution intends to use.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 24 Jan. 2026
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Tony Saavedra, Oc Register, 26 Jan. 2026
The following month, just before she was scheduled to compete at the World Championships, Harding pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hinder the prosecution.
—Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 26 Jan. 2026
There’s both the question of whether the law would allow a prosecution and whether as a matter of pure logistics, the prosecution is viable.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
It is sealed in a plastic bag stapled to an affidavit, which explains that the drive contains evidence the prosecution intends to use.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 24 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for the prosecution
Cite this Entry
“The prosecution.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20prosecution. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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