castle doctrine
Americannoun
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.
As the castle doctrine spread across the English colonies, including North America, it took its essential exclusionary principles with it.
From Slate • Oct. 23, 2025
Lauren Krasnoff, president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ Miami chapter, said Fortson’s race cannot be disentangled from discussion of the case when invoking the castle doctrine and Stand Your Ground.
From Seattle Times • May 15, 2024
S. David Mitchell, a law professor at the University of Missouri, said that a defense lawyer could try to invoke the castle doctrine, though it usually applies only when an intruder has entered the home.
From New York Times • Apr. 19, 2023
Stand your ground laws echo the common law "castle doctrine" principle, which does not carry a "duty to retreat" when a person feels they must defend their home.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2023
Missouri also has a law called the "castle doctrine," which allows a person to use deadly force to protect their home from an intrusion.
From Salon • Apr. 17, 2023
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.
