prosecute
Americanverb (used with object)
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Law.
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to institute legal proceedings against (a person).
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to seek to enforce or obtain by legal process.
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to conduct criminal proceedings in court against.
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to follow up or carry forward something undertaken or begun, usually to its completion.
to prosecute a war.
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to carry on or practice.
verb (used without object)
verb
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(tr) to bring a criminal action against (a person) for some offence
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(intr)
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to seek redress by legal proceedings
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to institute or conduct a prosecution
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(tr) to engage in or practise (a profession or trade)
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(tr) to continue to do (a task, etc)
Other Word Forms
- nonprosecutable adjective
- prosecutability noun
- prosecutable adjective
- quasi-prosecuted adjective
- reprosecute verb (used with object)
- well-prosecuted adjective
Etymology
Origin of prosecute
1400–50; late Middle English prosecuten to follow up, go on with < Latin prōsecūtus, past participle of prōsequī to pursue, proceed with, equivalent to prō- pro- 1 + secū-, variant stem of sequī to follow + -tus past participle suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She added that it "was not good enough" that the culprit had not yet been prosecuted and the taxpayer had now been left to pay for the clear-up.
From BBC
The trial heard he had also been arrested but not prosecuted after sending a letter to then Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in October 2020.
From BBC
The CQC was given powers to prosecute trusts for serious failures in care in 2015, to date there have been five prosecutions.
From BBC
Poaching is still a challenge in Uganda, where authorities have arrested and prosecuted individuals found with ivory, pangolins and other endangered species, conservationists report.
From BBC
"The tempo of activity needed to make this shield persistent while also prosecuting targets on the Iranian mainland will likely prove highly resource intensive, however."
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
