nolo contendere
[ noh-loh kuh n-ten-duh-ree ]
/ ˈnoʊ loʊ kənˈtɛn də ri /
noun Law.
(in a criminal case) a defendant's pleading that does not admit guilt but subjects him or her to punishment as though a guilty plea had been entered, the determination of guilt remaining open in other proceedings.
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Also nolo.
Origin of nolo contendere
1870–75; < Latin: I am unwilling to contend
Words nearby nolo contendere
noli-me-tangere, nolichucky, nolle prosequi, nollekens, nolo, nolo contendere, noludar, nom de guerre, nom de plume, nom., nom. cap.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
British Dictionary definitions for nolo contendere
nolo contendere
/ (ˈnəʊləʊ kɒnˈtɛndərɪ) /
noun
law, mainly US a plea made by a defendant to a criminal charge having the same effect in those proceedings as a plea of guilty but not precluding him from denying the charge in a subsequent action
Word Origin for nolo contendere
Latin: I do not wish to contend
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
Cultural definitions for nolo contendere
nolo contendere
[ (noh-loh kuhn-ten-duh-ree, kuhn-ten-duh-ray) ]
A plea that can be entered in a criminal or civil case, by which an accused person neither admits guilt nor proclaims innocence of a charge. Nolo contendere is Latin for “I do not wish to contend.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.