arraign
Americanverb (used with object)
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arraigns,
present (3rd person singular)
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arraigned,
past participle, past
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arraigning
present participle
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Law. to call or bring before a court to answer to an indictment, a formal charge for which it has been ascertained that there is enough evidence to warrant trial.
He is scheduled to be arraigned this morning on drug and gun charges.
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to accuse or charge in general; criticize; censure.
I am not arraigning Professor Wells for these omissions, only mentioning them to indicate how complex such questions can be.
verb
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to bring (a prisoner) before a court to answer an indictment
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to call to account; complain about; accuse
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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arraignsimple
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arraignssimple
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have arraignedperfect
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has arraignedperfect
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am arraigningprogressive
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are arraigningprogressive
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is arraigningprogressive
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have been arraigningperfect progressive
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has been arraigningperfect progressive
Past
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arraignedsimple
-
had arraignedperfect
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was arraigningprogressive
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were arraigningprogressive
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had been arraigningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of arraign
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English arainen, from Anglo-French arainer, Old French araisnier, equivalent to a- a- 5 + raisnier, from unrecorded Vulgar Latin ratiōnāre “to talk, reason”; see ratio
Explanation
To arraign someone is to call the person before a court of law to be charged. You've probably seen it in movies. It's the part where an official charge is read and the accused responds by saying "guilty" or "not guilty." Arraign comes from Old French, but it traces back to the Latin ad, meaning “to,” and ration, meaning “reason or account.” So if you arraign someone, it’s like you're presenting an account — a record — of the thing the person has done wrong. You're outlining a formal charge in court. Arraign can also be used more broadly to describe any accusation of wrongdoing.
Vocabulary lists containing arraign
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
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Othello
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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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:
O’Connor said federal law and rules of criminal procedure “require this Court to publicly arraign Boeing and permit the crime victims’ representatives to be heard at or in advance of the proceeding.”
From Washington Post ● Jan. 19, 2023
In most circumstances, prosecutors have 48 hours to arraign a person in custody, said Louis Shapiro, a well-known defense lawyer in California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 18, 2022
The prosecutor noted the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic could put a snag in efforts to arraign Schulte on the new charges and start his retrial as soon as possible, however.
From Washington Times ● May 30, 2020
Hägglund wants to arraign capitalism for a similar asceticism.
From The New Yorker ● May 13, 2019
It seems ludicrous to arraign this pink and white boy as guilty of the tragedy of her own and Prue's lives.
From Doctor Cupid by Rhoda Broughton
It loosely and libelously arraigns Canada Packers Ltd.,
From Time Magazine Archive
Amid echoes of the ominous thunderclap of the Faubus election victory in Arkansas, Author Dabbs speaks in a deceptively small voice, but arraigns himself no less harshly than his neighbors.
From Time Magazine Archive
Clummerhorn has the cars towed to his garage, lodges the young people in his hotel, arraigns them in his traffic court.
From Time Magazine Archive
He arraigns me on two grounds, my actions and my motives.
From Inquiry Into the Origin and Course of Political Parties in the United States by Martin Van Buren
But here comes an American Catholic and arraigns Protestant doctrine at the tribunal of American liberty.
From Life of Father Hecker by Walter Elliott
He hadn’t been arraigned by Friday evening, a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Juin was arraigned late Thursday and released on a $2 million bond.
From MarketWatch ● May 29, 2026
He was released after being arraigned on the unlawful entry charge, but in August of 2025, he failed to appear for a status hearing, the documents show.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
Cordrey was expected to be arrested in Hawaii, and Gabriela Gonzalez will likely be arraigned in a downtown L.A. courtroom on Tuesday afternoon, one source said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
They arraigned him before a justice, but by that time your grandfather and Mr Coldfield had got there.
From "Absalom, Absalom!" by William Faulkner
“It’s been arraigning — I mean, raining,” Mr. Conway tweeted.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 12, 2022
Dr Mehmood says there aren't enough police available to "handle all these cases efficiently and judiciously, without arraigning innocent people to complete paperwork and save their jobs".
From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2020
It is hard to resist the conclusion that Garner, in full maternal mode, is arraigning him for not being more of a man.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 4, 2016
Another positive development involves arraigning and prosecuting poachers in courts in the main cities, which are considered less susceptible to corruption than their local counterparts.
From National Geographic ● Dec. 10, 2015
Besides this, Carlile addressed open letters to his judge and jury, arraigning them for the illegality of their conduct, and spread them broadcast.
From The Battle of The Press As Told in the Story of the Life of Richard Carlile By His Daughter, Theophila Carlile Campbell by Theophila Carlile Campbell
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.
