indictment
Americannoun
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a formal written charge of crime formerly referred to and presented on oath by a grand jury
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any formal accusation of crime
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a charge of crime brought at the instance of the Lord Advocate
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the act of indicting or the state of being indicted
Usage
What does indictment mean? An indictment is an official accusation stating that a person is being charged with a crime and that a criminal trial will be held.An indictment is the final step in the evidence-gathering process before a person is put on trial for a serious crime, especially a felony. 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.Indictment can also be used in a more general way, outside of a legal context, to mean an accusation, strong criticism, or something that has the effect of revealing something as being deserving of criticism.Indictment is a noun form of the verb indict, which can be used in the sense of making formal criminal charges or in the more general sense of accusing or criticizing.Example: According to the indictment, the suspect is being charged with armed robbery.
Other Word Forms
- nonindictment noun
- reindictment noun
- superindictment noun
Etymology
Origin of indictment
First recorded in 1275–1325; indict + -ment; replacing Middle English enditement, from Anglo-French ( indite )
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.
Earlier on Tuesday, detectives provided testimony to the Navajo County grand jury and obtained an indictment and an arrest warrant from the county’s Superior Court.
From Los Angeles Times
Anchored by Huertas’ blazing performance, Pierre Saint-Martin’s trenchant debut plays both as a portrait of a person stuck in a state of perpetual grieving and an indictment of a troubled country.
From Los Angeles Times
Bill Essayli, declining to dismiss indictments he has overseen but finding that he was not lawfully appointed.
From Los Angeles Times
She said she was unsettled by the indictment against the congressman but could never bring herself to vote against him.
The documents, from unclassified records to communications to materials stemming from Justice Department’s 2019 federal indictment of Epstein, must be made “in a searchable and downloadable format,” according to the law.
From Barron's
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.
