Showing results for "pleading"

• present participle of plead.

pleading

American  

[plee-ding] / ˈpli dɪŋ /

noun

• pleadings
  plural

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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pleadings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pleading

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pleading pleadings

In 2024, David McBride was sentenced to five years and eight months after pleading guilty to stealing top secret defence documents and giving it to the media.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

The leader of Spain's north African territory of Ceuta on Wednesday said the number of children left there after last week's irregular migrant rush was "unsustainable", pleading for government aid.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

“We’re urging, we’re begging, we’re pleading to send more resources,” Jurado said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

But his attempts to distinguish them read as special pleading.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Then—I still shudder to remember it—a desperate, pleading note crept into his voice.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

He expects to see more pleadings for exemptions from state housing laws.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 2, 2025

But those pleadings, often couched in apocalyptic tones, have fallen flat.

From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2025

It took 142 hearing days spread over almost six years, 800 pages of pleadings and more than 3,000 pages of documents from the lawyers to arrive at today's verdicts.

From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2024

“A few hours later, a member of the jail’s medical team was called, and they advised that she be taken to the hospital immediately,” according to the pleadings.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 7, 2024

The defense lawyer had filed no written pleadings and uttered no more than twelve transcript lines at sentencing.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson