prosecute
Law.
to institute legal proceedings against (a person).
to seek to enforce or obtain by legal process.
to conduct criminal proceedings in court against.
to follow up or carry forward something undertaken or begun, usually to its completion: to prosecute a war.
to carry on or practice.
Law.
to institute and carry on a legal prosecution.
to act as prosecutor.
Origin of prosecute
1Other words for prosecute
Other words from prosecute
- pros·e·cut·a·ble, adjective
- pros·e·cut·a·bil·i·ty, noun
- non·pros·e·cut·a·ble, adjective
- qua·si-pros·e·cut·ed, adjective
- re·pros·e·cute, verb (used with object), re·pros·e·cut·ed, re·pros·e·cut·ing.
- well-pros·e·cut·ed, adjective
Words that may be confused with prosecute
- persecute, prosecute
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use prosecute in a sentence
In neither case did the authorities prosecute the staffing agencies that employed the minors or the factories that, knowingly or not, benefited from their labor.
Inside the Lives of Immigrant Teens Working Dangerous Night Shifts in Suburban Factories | by Melissa Sanchez | November 19, 2020 | ProPublicaThey refuse to prosecute what is sometimes called lifestyle crimes.
The Trailer: Republicans build their own fan clubs in Iowa | David Weigel | October 29, 2020 | Washington PostA judge last month dismissed the charges on grounds there was no probable cause to prosecute him.
Puerto Rico LGBTQ activist blocked from Facebook accounts for two months | Kaela Roeder | October 23, 2020 | Washington BladeIf those arrested this summer were actually prosecuted, it would mark a dramatic uptick in such prosecutions.
Morning Report: Where Unlawful Assembly Arrests Stand | Voice of San Diego | October 12, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoIf all SDPD arrests for unlawful assembly this year were prosecuted, it would mark a gigantic increase in such prosecutions, records obtained by Voice of San Diego show.
No Unlawful Assembly Charges So Far Following Dozens of Arrests | Brittany Cruz-Fejeran and Ashly McGlone | October 12, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
British Dictionary definitions for prosecute
/ (ˈprɒsɪˌkjuːt) /
(tr) to bring a criminal action against (a person) for some offence
(intr)
to seek redress by legal proceedings
to institute or conduct a prosecution
(tr) to engage in or practise (a profession or trade)
(tr) to continue to do (a task, etc)
Origin of prosecute
1Derived forms of prosecute
- prosecutable, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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