indictment

[in-dahyt-muhnt]

noun

1. an act of indicting.

2. Law.,  a formal accusation initiating a criminal case, presented by a grand jury and usually required for felonies and other serious crimes.

3. any charge, accusation, serious criticism, or cause for blame.

4. the state of being indicted.

indictment

/ ɪnˈdaɪtmənt /

noun

1. a formal written charge of crime formerly referred to and presented on oath by a grand jury

2. any formal accusation of crime

3. a charge of crime brought at the instance of the Lord Advocate

4. the act of indicting or the state of being indicted

indictment

1. A formal accusation of a crime, presented to the accused party after the charges have been considered by a grand jury.

Other Word Forms

• nonindictment noun
• reindictment noun
• superindictment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of indictment¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; indict + -ment; replacing Middle English enditement, from Anglo-French ( indite )

Example Sentences

Such investigative panels may recommend charges, but cannot themselves return an indictment.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Skandalakis, the executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, began his review of the legal challenge on Nov. 14, more than two years after the indictments were made public.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"As far as everything I've seen, a different attorney could bring James' case to a new grand jury and get a new indictment," said Ms Levine.

Read more on BBC

In later hearings, it came to light that Halligan never showed the full indictment to the grand jury that indicted Comey in September, which called the legality of the case into question.

Read more on Salon

This week, two other judges pointed to potential errors in how Halligan secured the September indictment.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• allegation 
• arraignment 
• bill 
• charge 
• citation 
• detention 
• impeachment 
• prosecution 
• statement 
• summons 
• warrant 

When To Use

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.