disorderly conduct

noun

: a petty offense chiefly against public order and decency that falls short of an indictable misdemeanor

Examples of disorderly conduct in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The suspect has ongoing cases for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and assault in both Manhattan last month and Queens last year, according to law enforcement. —Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 18 June 2025

He was charged with alcohol intoxication in a public place, disorderly conduct, and assaulting a police/probation officer. —Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 June 2025

City police arrested the juvenile female on charges of reckless endangerment of a child, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. —Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 4 June 2025

He was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence in that case. —Cindy Krischer Goodman, Sun Sentinel, 2 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1786, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for disorderly conduct

• abduct
• construct
• deduct
• destruct
• induct
• instruct
• obstruct
• aqueduct
• deconstruct
• reconstruct
• bucked
• chucked

Legal Definition

disorderly conduct

noun

dis·​or·​der·​ly conduct

: conduct that is likely to lead to a disturbance of the public peace or that offends public decency

also : the petty offense of engaging in disorderly conduct compare breach of the peace

Note: The term disorderly conduct is used in statutes to identify various acts against the public peace. It has been held to include the use of obscene language in public, the blocking of public ways, and the making of threats. A statute must identify acts that constitute disorderly conduct with sufficient clarity in order to avoid being held unconstitutional because of vagueness.