Skip to content
ARCHIEENGLISH
LearnPlayWordsRanking
  • Learn
  • Play
  • Words
  • Ranking
  • Mine
← Vocabulary

prosecution

UK/ˌpɹɒs.ɪˈkjuː.ʃən/US/ˌpɹɑ.sɪˈkju.ʃən/
nounB2Common in everyday speech and writing · #2,842 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: prosecutions

Prosecution is the bringing of a criminal charge in court. Face prosecution, the prosecution case, drop the prosecution.

The prosecution is also the side arguing it, as against the defence, and it carries the burden of proof throughout. A second sense survives in formal writing, where the prosecution of a task means carrying it on.

Charles W. Alexander · Public domain

Definitions of prosecution

  1. 1nounprosecutionThe bringing of a criminal charge in court.B2

    “Anyone caught dropping litter here faces prosecution and a heavy fine.”

prosecution is a charging.

Where it comes from

Latin prosecutio comes from prosequi, to follow up or pursue.

  1. Proto-Indo-European

    *sekʷ-

  2. Latin

    prōsecutio

  3. Middle French

    prosecution

  4. English, today

    prosecution

Built from

  • pro- · Latin — onward
  • sequor · Latin — follow

Equivalent to prosecute + ion, from Middle French prosecution, from Latin prōsecutio, from Latin prōsequor (“follow, pursue”), from pro- (“onward”) + sequor (“follow”) (English sequel). Compare persecution, and see more at prosecute.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

prosecution in the wild

  • Declining to expand the tort of malicious prosecution, a unanimous California Supreme Court in the case of Sheldon Appel Co. v.

    Malicious prosecution

  • The defense phase of a trial occurs after the prosecution phase, that is, after the prosecution "rests".

    Defense (legal)

  • A director of public prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world.

    Director of public prosecutions

  • Such legal immunity may be from criminal prosecution, or from civil liability (being subject of lawsuit), or both.

    Legal immunity

  • The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales.

    Crown Prosecution Service

1 / 2

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the sequor family

second

prosecution — used about once every 420 pages · #2,842 · point at the bar for the others

  • prosecute
  • prosecutor