pleading

American  

[plee-ding] / ˈpli dɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of a person who pleads.

2. Law.

   1. the advocating of a cause in a court of law.

   2. the art or science of setting forth or drawing pleas in legal causes.

   3. a formal statement, usually written, setting forth the cause of action or defense of a case.

   4. pleadings, the successive statements delivered alternately by plaintiff and defendant until the issue is joined.

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pleading British  

/ ˈpliːdɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of presenting a case in court, as by a lawyer on behalf of his client

2. the art or science of preparing the formal written statements of the parties to a legal action See also pleadings

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Other Word Forms

• nonpleading
  adjective
• nonpleadingly
  adverb
• pleadingly
  adverb
• pleadingness
  noun
• unpleading
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of pleading

1250–1300; Middle English pledynge (gerund). See plead, -ing ¹

Example Sentences

But Sir Keir Starmer does so while pleading with his party, in public and in private, to cut out all the chat about his future and who might replace him.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

Prosecutors said they agreed to shave 15 months from the sentence in exchange for Jones pleading guilty by April 30.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2026

The Quintanas were each sentenced in February 2024 in Miami’s federal court to serve 57 months in prison after pleading guilty to failing to make customs declarations and conspiring against the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

In Florida, a viral video shows a woman, overwhelmed with emotion, pleading with an immigration judge to free her terminally ill father from ICE detention.

From Salon • Apr. 28, 2026

Tristran looked at her with pleading eyes, but Yvaine shook her head: this was his fight to win, and he would fight it better if she were not there.

From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman