plea
Americannoun
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an appeal or entreaty.
a plea for mercy.
- Synonyms:
- suit, solicitation, supplication, petition, request
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something that is alleged, urged, or pleaded in defense or justification.
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an excuse; pretext.
He begged off on the plea that his car wasn't working.
- Synonyms:
- justification
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Law.
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an allegation made by, or on behalf of, a party to a legal suit, in support of their claim or defense.
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a defendant's answer to a legal declaration or charge.
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(in courts of equity) a plea that admits the truth of the declaration, but alleges special or new matter in avoidance.
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Obsolete. a suit or action.
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idioms
noun
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an earnest entreaty or request
a plea for help
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law something alleged or pleaded by or on behalf of a party to legal proceedings in support of his claim or defence
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criminal law the answer made by an accused to the charge
a plea of guilty
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(in Scotland and formerly in England) a suit or action at law
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an excuse, justification, or pretext
he gave the plea of a previous engagement
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
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.
Vocabulary lists containing plea
"Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
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The Judicial System
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Excerpt from "Always Running"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Appeared in the February 5, 2026, print edition as 'Savannah Guthrie Posts Plea For the Return of Her Mother'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026
Plea agreements are perhaps the most obvious example: Typically, a prosecutor and a defendant will agree on the terms of the plea—what charges the defendant will plead to and what sentence they will serve.
From Slate • Oct. 9, 2024
Plea deals are carefully negotiated between defense lawyers and prosecutors over the course of weeks or months and it’s unusual - especially in high-profile cases - for judges to not sign off on them.
From Washington Times • Jul. 27, 2023
The portmanteau of "breakfast" and "lunch" was first coined in 1895, thanks to Guy Beringer, a British writer who penned an article titled "Brunch: A Plea" in Hunter's Weekly.
From Salon • Mar. 24, 2023
It was considered perfectly acceptable until the mid-nineteenth century, when Latin scholars—notably Henry Alford in his book A Plea for the Queens English—misguidedly called it a crime.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
