alibi
Americannoun
plural
alibis-
Law. the defense by an accused person of having been elsewhere at the time an alleged offense was committed.
-
an excuse, especially to avoid blame.
- Synonyms:
- justification, reason, explanation
-
a person used as one's excuse.
My sick grandmother was my alibi for missing school.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
-
law
-
a defence by an accused person that he was elsewhere at the time the crime in question was committed
-
the evidence given to prove this
-
-
informal an excuse
verb
Etymology
Origin of alibi
First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin alibī (adverb): “in another place, elsewhere”
Explanation
Your alibi is evidence that proves your innocence. If you were making cookies with your mom when someone raided your sister's piggy bank, your mom is your alibi, since she knows you were with her when the crime was committed. The noun alibi is the same word as its Latin root, alibi, which means "excuse." When you provide an alibi, you are giving proof — a certified excuse — that you could not have committed a crime. Alibi is easy to confuse with alias, which means "an assumed, or false, name."
Vocabulary lists containing alibi
The Westing Game
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Twelve Angry Men
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"The Pedestrian" by Ray Bradbury
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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 governor has denied any knowledge of the plot and has an alibi that he was traveling to Los Angeles that day.
From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2026
But he got his first name wrong, and the person he actually accused turned out to have a firm alibi.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
Ford determined that Hatley was the only person who couldn’t provide an alibi for the night of the murder.
From Slate • Apr. 6, 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
“We’ll check out your alibi soon enough,” Caputo snapped.
From "Confessions of a Murder Suspect" by James Patterson
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.
