plea

American  

[plee] / pli /

noun

• pleas
  plural

1. an appeal or entreaty.

   a plea for mercy.

   Synonyms:

   suit, solicitation, supplication, petition, request

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

3. an excuse; pretext.

   He begged off on the plea that his car wasn't working.

   Synonyms:

   justification

4. Law.

   1. an allegation made by, or on behalf of, a party to a legal suit, in support of their claim or defense.

   2. a defendant's answer to a legal declaration or charge.

   3. (in courts of equity) a plea that admits the truth of the declaration, but alleges special or new matter in avoidance.

   4. Obsolete. a suit or action.

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idioms

1. cop a plea, cop.

plea British  

/ pliː /

noun

1. an earnest entreaty or request

   a plea for help

2. 1. law something alleged or pleaded by or on behalf of a party to legal proceedings in support of his claim or defence

   2. criminal law the answer made by an accused to the charge

      a plea of guilty

   3. (in Scotland and formerly in England) a suit or action at law

3. an excuse, justification, or pretext

   he gave the plea of a previous engagement

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plea More Idioms  

1. see cop a plea.

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Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pleas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of plea

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English ple, earlier plaid from Old French, from early Medieval Latin placitum “law-court, suit, decision, decree,” Latin: “opinion” (literally, “that which is pleasing or agreeable”), placēre “to please”

Explanation

A plea is what you make when you're begging for something with a sense of urgency and emotion. While you wouldn't call asking for a hall pass a plea, you could make a plea for justice or world peace. Plea also has a legal meaning. When you get a traffic ticket or if you're accused of a crime, you have to enter a plea of "guilty" or "not guilty." A "plea bargain" is when you make a deal with the prosecutor — you may plead guilty to a charge (by entering a guilty plea) that has less of a penalty and, in return, the prosecutor drops the more serious charge.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

plea pleas

Reiner has pleaded not guilty to the stabbings and remains legally innocent unless he changes his plea or is convicted by a jury.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

“Today’s guilty plea makes clear that harming or harassing our marine wildlife has serious consequences.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

After Friday’s plea, his legal team lodged formal arguments that the state proceedings can’t go forward because it would amount to an impermissible second prosecution for the same conduct.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

There had been reports in US media leading up to the hearing that Mangione would be taking a plea deal.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Southside spoiled the dog the same way he spoiled me, with food and love and tolerance, all of it a silent, earnest plea never to leave him.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Administration officials have so far rebuffed Ford’s pleas on the issue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

As an incarcerated person, you find that your life rests entirely in the hands of prison employees; you are completely dependent on them to hear your pleas and take immediate, lifesaving action.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

But his pleas for personal trust ring hollow.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026

Over the course of months, investigators made a couple of detentions and conducted a few searches as the Guthrie family made a series of emotional pleas to the kidnappers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

I stomp off to my room—ignoring Nana’s pleas for me to come back—and log on to my computer.

From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty

Related Words

• appeal
• application
• entreaty
• overture
• petition
• prayer
• solicitation
• suit