extradition
Americannoun
-
extraditions
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of extradition
From French, dating back to 1830–40; see origin at ex- 1, tradition
Explanation
A legal word, extradition means sending someone back to the country or state where they've been accused of a crime. Getting countries to agree on the terms of extradition can take years. It can be hard enough for lawyers in the U.S. to agree on a person's extradition from one state to another, so you can imagine how difficult it can be for officials from different countries. Extradition can have real consequences for the person being extradited. Suppose the laws there allow for the death penalty: a person accused of a capital crime would be smart to fight extradition to that place. The Latin prefix ex- means "from, out of," and trāditiōn- means "handing over," so extradition is the handing-over of someone from one jurisdiction to another.
Vocabulary lists containing extradition
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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:
U.S. authorities have not provided sufficient proof of wrongdoing to merit the governor’s arrest and extradition, Sheinbaum has said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
Police in Pula, Croatia on Wednesday arrested Volodymyr Zhuravlyov under a European arrest warrant put out by Germany, which is seeking his extradition.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Abbott’s office said the governor wouldn’t comment on pending extradition, and the Department of Homeland Security didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
British prosecutors are urging a US court to deny a request by influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan that they be released from jail while extradition proceedings play out, ahead of a detention hearing.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Most important, he had no intention of leaving Iceland, because of the threat of extradition to the United States.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
The two men remain in Serbia and the US is co-ordinating with Serbian officials regarding their pending extraditions.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2025
These are not extraditions, because these folks are not being sought by El Salvador on any charges there, and certainly have not gone through any extradition process.
From Slate ● Apr. 8, 2025
Months later, the British government enacted policies that “made similar extraditions extremely difficult,” according to the Nelson Hackett Project, a digital work of public scholarship helmed by the University of Arkansas Humanities Center.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 17, 2023
In Peru, all extraditions must be approved by the president.
From Washington Times ● May 11, 2023
A year earlier, a bill in Hong Kong that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China had set off months of protests.
From New York Times ● Feb. 5, 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.
