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

Nowhere has this been more clearly on display than in the world of capital punishment.

From Slate • Mar. 27, 2026

Opponents of capital punishment have rejected it on religious, ethical and legal grounds arguing it goes against Jewish law, violates the right to life and brings a risk of executing innocent people.

From BBC • Jan. 31, 2026

Alarm has grown over the threat of capital punishment against arrested protesters, even as Donald Trump said Iran had called off hundreds of executions.

From Barron's • Jan. 18, 2026

Prosecutors have not made a decision about whether they will seek capital punishment in the case.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 6, 2026

So it wasn’t capital punishment that drove crime down, nor was it the booming economy.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt