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

“But, of course, Allen Morgan had a concrete alibi.”

From BBC

Mr Lumumba was arrested in connection with the 2007 murder and spent two weeks behind bars, but was released without charge after a customer gave him an alibi.

From BBC

They say that was evidence Troconis was in on the plot and tried to help him create a bogus alibi.

From Seattle Times

But The New York Times reported Thursday that, while legal experts welcomed Alito's willingness to explain himself, they were not persuaded by his alibi.

From Salon

Even before prices started sliding, he told me that jacking prices up too high, even with the alibi of production cuts, wasn’t in Wall Street’s interests.

From Salon

Related Words

• excuse
• justification
• pretext