plea

[ plee ]

/ pli /

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See synonyms for: plea / pleas on Thesaurus.com

noun

an appeal or entreaty: a plea for mercy.

something that is alleged, urged, or pleaded in defense or justification.

an excuse; pretext: He begged off on the plea that his car wasn't working.

Law.

an allegation made by, or on behalf of, a party to a legal suit, in support of his or her claim or defense.
a defendant's answer to a legal declaration or charge.
(in courts of equity) a plea that admits the truth of the declaration, but alleges special or new matter in avoidance.
Obsolete. a suit or action.

SYNONYMS FOR plea

1 request, petition, supplication, solicitation, suit.

3 justification.

See synonyms for plea on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms for plea

cop a plea, Slang. cop¹ (def. 5b).

Origin of plea

1175–1225; Middle English ple, earlier plaid<Old French <early Medieval Latin placitum law-court, suit, decision, decree, Latin: opinion (literally, that which is pleasing or agreeable), noun use of neuter of past participle of placēre to please

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH plea

pleas , please

Words nearby plea

playwriting, plaza, plaza de toros, Plaza Lasso, PLC, plea, plea-bargain, plea bargaining, pleach, plead, pleadable

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

VOCAB BUILDER

What does plea mean?

A plea is an intense request or appeal.

It’s especially used to imply that the request is passionate and that the person doing the pleading is desperate.

It’s especially used in serious situations. A person might make a plea to their friend to get help with an addiction. A kid might make a plea to their parents begging not to be grounded.

In law, a plea is generally a defendant’s response to an accusation, as in a plea of guilty or not guilty. A plea-bargain is an agreement between a defendant and a prosecutor in which the defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge. The slang phrase cop a plea refers to this and can be used in nonlegal contexts.

To make a plea is to plead.

Example: When I was a kid, I used to beg my mom not to make me go to the dentist, but she always ignored my pleas.

Where does plea come from?

The first records of plea come from around 1200. It ultimately comes from the Latin verb placēre, meaning “to please.”

A plea is a serious or passionate appeal and is usually made by someone who is desperate or extremely emotional. A plea is always made to another person or entity. In the context of religion, a prayer is often a kind of plea.

In law, plea is used to mean a variety of different things, including the defendant’s answer to the prosecution (a plea of not guilty) or an excuse or defense for one’s actions (a plea of self-defense).

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What are some other forms related to plea?

pleas (plural noun)
plead (verb)

What are some synonyms for plea?

What are some words that share a root or word element with plea?

What are some words that often get used in discussing plea?

How is plea used in real life?

Plea is commonly used when talking about defendants in a legal case. Outside of legal contexts, a passionate request can be called a plea, especially when the person making the request appears to be desperate.

Everytime I get a haircut it's like 3 months grown out and the hairdresser always bids me goodbye with a slightly desperate plea of "see you in 4 weeks!"

— James (@pageofabook) December 14, 2019

"'Please read a book!" I cry. "I swear to you that they don't contain gluten!"

The hipsters ignore my plea.

— Shannon (@theevilwriter) September 21, 2017

The brother of a British man due to be executed in China for drug smuggling makes a desperate plea for mercy.

— David Carradine (@DavidCarradineX) December 25, 2009

Try using plea!

True or False?

A plea is the answer a person gives when someone else is desperately asking them for something.

Example sentences from the Web for plea

A couple of years later, she was charged with larceny in a separate case from the first shoplifting incident and was offered a plea deal.
A woman in ICE detention says her fallopian tube was removed without her consent|Nicole Narea|September 17, 2020|Vox
Following pleas from their governments, tourists from the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia will also be able to enter Hungary if they had already booked a holiday there.
As Europe’s COVID-19 numbers rise, Hungary becomes first EU country to reimpose blanket border restrictions|David Meyer|September 1, 2020|Fortune
In their pleas, they said that without government support, their restaurants would close for good.
Is the Government Just Going to Watch the Restaurant Industry Die?|Elazar Sontag|August 28, 2020|Eater
Unlike most plea agreements, in which the judge remains free to decide the defendant’s sentence, Loughlin’s and Giannulli’s proposed prison terms were binding once accepted.
Lori Loughlin gets two months in prison after judge accepts plea deal in college bribery scandal|radmarya|August 21, 2020|Fortune

As a result, California in 2014 became the first state to ban the plea.
Harris as VP pick brings diversity, LGBTQ ally to Biden ticket|Chris Johnson|August 11, 2020|Washington Blade
He later accepted a plea deal that put him behind bars for 25 years.
An Informant, a Missing American, and Juarez’s House of Death: Inside the 12-Year Cold Case of David Castro|Bill Conroy|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Schettino also tried to enter a plea bargain agreement, which ultimately was rejected by the Grosseto court.
The Costa Concordia’s Randy Reckless Captain Takes the Stand|Barbie Latza Nadeau|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The mother also made a plea to the violent ones who wreak such havoc.
11 Children Shot in Milwaukee, One in Her Grandpa's Lap|Michael Daly|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was an intimate and somber plea, like a parent opening an intervention with a wayward child.
How to Run a Statewide Campaign on $38|Michael Ames|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He could have gotten away with a greatly reduced fine and no time behind bears if he had simply entered a guilty plea.
He Faces Jail for Rescuing Baby Eagles|Michael Daly|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is probable he wished to provide written proof of a plea that he was an unwilling agent in the clutch of a mutinous army.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
Nor can he hold the company on the plea of ignorance by declaring he has not read it, for it is his duty to read the receipt.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
On the plea that they must hasten if the midday heat were to be avoided, they cut short the halt to less than an hour.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
In short, insurgency ceased to be a valid plea; if it existed in fact, officially it had become a dead letter.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
For the popular voice accused him of outrages for which the utmost license of civil war would not furnish a plea.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay

British Dictionary definitions for plea

plea

/ (pliː) /

noun

an earnest entreaty or requesta plea for help

law something alleged or pleaded by or on behalf of a party to legal proceedings in support of his claim or defence
criminal law the answer made by an accused to the chargea plea of guilty
(in Scotland and formerly in England) a suit or action at law

an excuse, justification, or pretexthe gave the plea of a previous engagement

Word Origin for plea

C13: from Anglo-Norman plai, from Old French plaid lawsuit, from Medieval Latin placitum court order (literally: what is pleasing), from Latin placēre to please

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

Idioms and Phrases with plea

plea

see cop a plea.

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plea

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SYNONYMS FOR plea