pleading

[plee-ding]

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.

pleading

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of pleading¹

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

Example Sentences

As I wheeled my cleaning trolley round the corridors, I was acutely aware of pleading faces peering out of bedrooms, hoping for a few minutes of company and conversation.

From BBC

Emily Blunt called the project “really, really scary,” pleading, “Come on, agencies, don’t do that.”

From Salon

Coberg faces up to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion and conspiracy against rights, according to a statement by the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times

The film tells the real-life story of Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian girl whose final hours trapped in a car under intense fire from an IDF tank were spent pleading to be saved.

From Los Angeles Times

Snell had other ideas, signaling Roberts to hurry to the mound in the middle of his walk before seemingly pleading his case to stay in.

From Los Angeles Times