Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

habeas corpus

American  
[hey-bee-uhs kawr-puhs] / ˈheɪ bi əs ˈkɔr pəs /

noun

Law.

  1. a writ requiring a person to be brought before a judge or court, especially for investigation of a restraint of the person's liberty, used as a protection against illegal imprisonment.

habeas corpus British  
/ ˈheɪbɪəs ˈkɔːpəs /

noun

  1. law a writ ordering a person to be brought before a court or judge, esp so that the court may ascertain whether his detention is lawful

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
habeas corpus Cultural  

  1. A legal term meaning that an accused person must be presented physically before the court with a statement demonstrating sufficient cause for arrest. Thus, no accuser may imprison someone indefinitely without bringing that person and the charges against him or her into a courtroom. In Latin, habeas corpus literally means “you shall have the body.”

Usage

What is habeas corpus? The writ of habeas corpus, often shortened to habeas corpus, is the requirement that an arrested person be brought before a judge or court before being detained or imprisoned.

Etymology

Origin of habeas corpus

< Latin: literally, have the body (first words of writ), equivalent to habeās 2nd-person singular present subjunctive (with imperative force) of habēre to have + corpus body

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.

Habeas corpus gives anyone who believes they have been unlawfully detained by the government a way to contest the legality of their detention.

From Slate • Jun. 2, 2025

Habeas corpus grants the right to a hearing.

From Washington Post • Feb. 21, 2023

Habeas corpus is critical to rein in state abuse of power and vindicate freedom, but today, habeas corpus is badly broken.

From Salon • Jan. 15, 2023

"Habeas corpus is a procedural vehicle intended to secure the liberty rights of human beings who are unlawfully restrained, not nonhuman animals."

From BBC • Jun. 14, 2022

Habeas corpus, suspension of, 169, 358, 385, 403; motion for repeal of, 372.

From The Political History of England - Vol. X. The History of England from the Accession of George III to the close of Pitt's first Administration by Poole, Reginald Lane

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.