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

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

Nidal al-Arir wails on the ground, pleading for his son, who needs a corneal transplant.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

Elisha waited, pleading, and pacing the parlor until Mrs. Walter convinced Maggie to see the man, if only to make him leave.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

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

But a spokesperson for Bally Sports ignored my pleadings about whether The International Sportsman had ever aired.

From Slate ● May 29, 2024

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

“Jerree . . .” “Come out and play, Jerry . . .” A parody of those long ago childhood pleadings.

From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier