Old Bailey

American

[bey-lee] / ˈbeɪ li /

noun

the main criminal court of London, England.

Old Bailey British

noun

the chief court exercising criminal jurisdiction in London; the Central Criminal Court of England

"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

Example Sentences

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Old Bailey

Shepherd skipped his Old Bailey trial while on the run in Georgia, before he was eventually extradited back to the UK to serve his sentence.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

The teenager was refused bail and will next appear at the Old Bailey on 19 June.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

A judge at the Old Bailey has fined UK Athletics £350,000 with £44,000 in costs after hearing how a paralympic athlete died when equipment fell on him at a training ground in east London.

From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026

A Paralympic athlete died "in an accident waiting to happen" when a metal bar fell on him, a sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey has been told.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026

But there must be another line after the bells of Old Bailey.

From "1984" by George Orwell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023