prosecutor
Americannoun
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prosecutors
plural
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Law.
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a person, as a complainant or chief witness, instigating prosecution in a criminal proceeding.
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a person who prosecutes.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of prosecutor
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Medieval Latin, Late Latin prōsecūtor “pursuer”; see prosecute, -tor
Compare meaning
How does prosecutor compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
On a TV crime drama or in real life courts, the prosecutor is the person who brings criminal charges against a suspect. A prosecutor is a lawyer who works for a state or government organization and is responsible for starting legal proceedings and then proving in court that the suspect committed the crime he’s accused of. The opposite of a prosecutor is a defense attorney. So on that TV crime drama, the prosecutor is the one trying to put the bad guy in jail, and the defense attorney is the one trying to prove that the guy really isn’t a bad guy.
Vocabulary lists containing prosecutor
Monster
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Ghost Boys
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Both indictments were later dismissed because of a defect involving the appointment of the prosecutor, although the Justice Department subsequently pursued a new indictment against Comey.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
The prosecutor asked the witness: "Where did urgency come from?"
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
Bill Essayli, the lead federal prosecutor in Los Angeles whose office has previously sent Logan’s office a series of grand jury subpoenas for individual voter records as part of a criminal investigation into illegal voting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Lawyers for several defendants have asked a judge to disqualify James as special prosecutor, citing her initial statements about the lawsuit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
For the first time, I look right at the prosecutor.
From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
They have pleaded not guilty and denied the accusations through their attorneys, who declined to comment on the new allegations leveled in court Friday by prosecutors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
Now, prosecutors visited his relatives in Omsk and called on residents of housing blocks where his family had lived.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The paper also reported that Paxton rang in 2025 at a New Year’s party in Dubai attended by two men federal prosecutors had indicted for allegedly embezzling millions from an Illinois hospital.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026
In an email response to The Times, Kimberly Edds, spokesperson for the district attorney, said prosecutors were instead pursuing a probation violation against Lopez.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Proposition 21, the law allowing prosecutors to file charges against juveniles in adult court, had been upheld by the California Supreme Court way back in 2002.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
