acquitted
Americanadjective
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of acquitted
Explanation
An acquitted defendant is off the hook. If you're on trial for a crime and you're found "not guilty," then you're acquitted and you can go free. When you have been labeled acquitted, that means the jury has found you not guilty of the crime and legally blameless. The word gained notoriety in the highly publicized 1995 trial of the former football star O. J. Simpson, accused of murdering his wife and her friend. Simpson’s attorney’s mantra to the jury was "If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit," referring to a glove connected to the murder.
Vocabulary lists containing acquitted
The Outsiders
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This Week In Words: September 28–October 4, 2019
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Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
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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.
The defendants -- both Chinese nationals who arrived in court in prison garb -- were acquitted of charges stemming from a separate bombing at a Bangkok pier.
From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026
Simpson was acquitted, but he never regained the public’s affection or goodwill, and will forever be remembered as a pariah who perhaps got away with literal murder.
From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026
Atkins was convicted on dozens of lesser counts Tuesday afternoon, but jurors acquitted him of first-degree murder, according to a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
A fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, was discharged and acquitted by the court due to insufficient evidence against him.
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
State courts overturned his conviction and death sentence, and he was subsequently acquitted of all charges and released.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Definitions 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.
