alibi

American  

[al-uh-bahy] / ˈæl əˌbaɪ /

noun

plural

alibis

1. Law. the defense by an accused person of having been elsewhere at the time an alleged offense was committed.

2. an excuse, especially to avoid blame.

   Synonyms:

   justification, reason, explanation

3. a person used as one's excuse.

   My sick grandmother was my alibi for missing school.

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verb (used without object)

1. Informal. to give an excuse; offer a defense.

   to alibi for being late.

verb (used with object)

1. Informal.

   1. to provide an alibi for (someone).

      He alibied his friend out of a fix.

   2. to make or find (one's way) by using alibis.

      to alibi one's way out of work.

alibi British  

/ ˈælɪˌbaɪ /

noun

1. law

   1. a defence by an accused person that he was elsewhere at the time the crime in question was committed

   2. the evidence given to prove this

2. informal an excuse

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verb

1. (tr) to provide with an alibi

Etymology

Origin of alibi

First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin alibī (adverb): “in another place, elsewhere”

Example Sentences

McCullagh had been arrested the day Natalie's body was found but later released, after giving the police a false alibi of a so-called YouTube "live stream" which he later admitted he had pre-recorded.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

Police had accepted his alibi and, on Christmas Eve, told McCullagh he was no longer viewed as a suspect.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

Most surprising was the dialogue between Lee and the advanced OpenAI chatbot ChatGPT about how to create an alibi for Perpétuo’s injuries.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026

"Ingenuity can never become an alibi for incivility," the municipality of Catania said in a post on its official Facebook page.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

“I’m trying to find Marcus’s alibi witness,” I said.

From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks

Related Words

• excuse
• justification
• pretext