indict
Americanverb (used with object)
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indicts,
present (3rd person singular)
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indicted,
past participle, past
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indicting
present participle
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Law. (of a grand jury) to bring a formal accusation against (someone) as a means of bringing a case to trial after ascertaining that there is enough evidence.
The grand jury indicted him for murder.
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to charge with an offense or crime; accuse of wrongdoing; incriminate; condemn.
He tends to indict everyone of plotting against him.
verb
Usage
What does indict mean? To indict someone is to officially charge them with a crime that will be the subject of a criminal trial. Indicting a suspect is the final step in the evidence-gathering process before a person is put on trial for a serious crime, especially a felony. The official announcement of this accusation is called an indictment. In the U. S., such indictments are presented by a grand jury—the group of people responsible for determining whether there is enough evidence of a crime for a suspect to be put on trial. Indict can also be used in a more general way, outside of a legal context, to mean to accuse or strongly criticize, or to reveal something as being deserving of criticism. The noun indictment can also be used in this more general sense. Example: The suspect has been indicted for armed robbery and will face trial next month.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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indictsimple
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indictssimple
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have indictedperfect
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has indictedperfect
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am indictingprogressive
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are indictingprogressive
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is indictingprogressive
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have been indictingperfect progressive
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has been indictingperfect progressive
Past
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indictedsimple
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had indictedperfect
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was indictingprogressive
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were indictingprogressive
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had been indictingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of indict
First recorded in 1620–30; variant spelling (from Medieval Latin ) of indite
Explanation
If you accuse someone of committing an offense, you indict them. A book that indicts the entire education system might lay out all the reasons that schools are failing kids. In a legal sense, the verb indict means to bring formal charges against someone, especially in a court of law, as in a federal grand jury. The grand jury indicted, the man on 12 counts of murder. Although it's true the boy had stolen cookies from the cookie jar in the past, that is no reason to indict him out of hand in the present case. There were no witnesses and the crumb evidence would suggest someone else committed the crime.
Vocabulary lists containing indict
You Can Say That Again: Dic and Dict
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Fast Food Nation
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The Hate U Give
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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:
“A grand jury found probable cause to indict Carlos Jimenez for assaulting a federal officer with his car,” McEvoy wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
A veteran national-security prosecutor working on that line of inquiry, Maria Medetis Long, soon told senior officials that she hadn’t found a basis to indict Brennan, some of the people said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the U.S. began to indict Russian oligarchs and seize yachts and other assets.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
But this changed two years ago when customary law was struck out, he explained, giving "a new regime to indict anyone taking part in the marriage of someone below the age of 18".
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
In other words, the grand jury had decided not to indict the officers.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
In “Violent Saviors” Mr. Easterly indicts an idea he calls “the Development Right of Conquest”—quite the mouthful—which “confers the right to conquer lands on those who bring material progress to these lands.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
“It’ll actually be interesting to see if a grand jury indicts these cases.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2025
She indicts herself, itemizing the costs of the production.
From New York Times ● Jun. 5, 2024
May 7 — Federal grand jury indicts Chauvin, Lane, Kueng and Thao on civil rights charges.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 19, 2022
At the same time Paul indicts the false apostles.
From Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians by Theodore Graebner
A former salesperson for aircraft maintenance company BizJet International pleaded guilty to bribing foreign officials in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America, concluding a long-running bribery case first indicted in 2012.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Florida last month for selling more than five million counterfeit shipping labels to thousands of US customers over the years.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
The two became friends and started dating about six months later, just weeks before she was indicted on federal fraud charges.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
More recently, The Wall Street Journal reported that Paxton spent New Year's Eve in Dubai with two American businessmen indicted over alleged healthcare fraud.
From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026
Fred Gray, one of those arrested, later recalled that it had been an honor to have been arrested, and that those not indicted felt a little insulted.
From "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose
The hit man’s quest to track down nursing mothers lends “Your Mother” a peculiar but propulsive forward momentum while neatly indicting the macho stereotypes that usually accompany such action movies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Police in Texas investigated Lucy's death as possible manslaughter but a grand jury in Collin County decided against indicting her father.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
The U.S. has tried to rein in the trade, indicting some individuals and expanding the sanctions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026
Prosecutors announcing at the outset of a case who they're indicting, the charges being brought and why is "fine," he explained.
From Salon ● Mar. 25, 2024
The government discussed the question of depriving Chatillon of his rank and dignities and of indicting him before the High Court as a conspirator, an enemy of the public good, a traitor, etc.
From Penguin Island by Anatole France
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