capital punishment

American  

[kap-i-tl puhn-ish-muhnt] / ˈkæp ɪ tl ˈpʌn ɪʃ mənt /

noun

1. punishment by death for a crime; death penalty.

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capital punishment British  

noun

1. the punishment of death for a crime; death penalty

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capital punishment ¹ Cultural  

1. The death penalty for a crime.

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capital punishment ² Cultural  

1. The infliction of the death penalty as punishment for certain crimes. (See capital offense.)

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In the United States, capital punishment has been an extremely controversial issue on legal, moral, and ethical grounds. In 1972, the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was not, in principle, cruel and unusual punishment (and not, therefore, unconstitutional), but that its implementation through existing state laws was unconstitutional. In 1976, the Supreme Court again ruled that the death penalty was not unconstitutional, though a mandatory death penalty for any crime was. Thirty-nine states now practice the death penalty.

Etymology

Origin of capital punishment

First recorded in 1575–85

Example Sentences

Smith, a dispute over capital punishment that was poised to be one of the most important cases of the term.

From Slate • May 23, 2026

As well as campaigning against capital punishment and the obligatory headscarf for women, she has also regularly predicted the downfall of the clerical system that has ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

From Barron's • May 10, 2026

The Court had in prior decades issued many emergency orders in election and capital punishment cases.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Prosecutors have yet to decide if they will seek capital punishment in the case.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

As early as 1682, William Penn’s colonial government experimented with incarceration as an alternative to corporal and capital punishment.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover