press charges
idiom
: to take legal action against someone : to officially accuse someone of a crime
He was caught shoplifting, but the store owner didn't press charges.
Examples of press charges in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
At Issaquah High School, police opted not to press charges.
—
Caroline Haskins, WIRED, 8 Mar. 2024
Though Hammer didn’t press charges after Leonsis called to apologize, the National Hockey League fined the owner $100,000 and suspended him for a week.
—Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2024
While the state medical examiner’s office ruled Benedict’s death a suicide, and the local district attorney declined to press charges against the students involved in the attack, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has opened an investigation into the school district.
—Andrew Sheeler, Sacramento Bee, 28 Mar. 2024
She was escorted out in handcuffs, but police declined to press charges on the burglary allegation.
—Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 25 Mar. 2024
David Lin called 911, but later declined to press charges.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2024
The police waited until 2019 to pass the information in the complaints to prosecutors, who then declined to press charges.
—Kat Tenbarge, NBC News, 12 Mar. 2024
The car’s owner was later able to recover the vehicle, and both the owner and the detailer chose to press charges.
—Will McCarthy, The Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2024
Gill, 32, also said the Williams family did not want Koss to go to prison or to press charges against him.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 9 Mar. 2024
Caroline Haskins, WIRED, 8 Mar. 2024
Though Hammer didn’t press charges after Leonsis called to apologize, the National Hockey League fined the owner $100,000 and suspended him for a week.
—Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2024
While the state medical examiner’s office ruled Benedict’s death a suicide, and the local district attorney declined to press charges against the students involved in the attack, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has opened an investigation into the school district.
—Andrew Sheeler, Sacramento Bee, 28 Mar. 2024
She was escorted out in handcuffs, but police declined to press charges on the burglary allegation.
—Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 25 Mar. 2024
David Lin called 911, but later declined to press charges.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2024
The police waited until 2019 to pass the information in the complaints to prosecutors, who then declined to press charges.
—Kat Tenbarge, NBC News, 12 Mar. 2024
The car’s owner was later able to recover the vehicle, and both the owner and the detailer chose to press charges.
—Will McCarthy, The Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2024
Gill, 32, also said the Williams family did not want Koss to go to prison or to press charges against him.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 9 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'press charges.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Press charges.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/press%20charges. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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