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public nuisance

British

noun

law an illegal act causing harm to members of a particular community rather than to any individual
informal a person who is generally considered objectionable

"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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public nuisance

For most of its long life, public nuisance was among the dullest legal actions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

Inspectors confirmed the odors were coming from the warehouse and issued Lineage an initial notice for violation of public nuisance rules.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

The public nuisance offence carries a jail term of up to three months and a fine.

From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026

They accused the oil companies of creating a public nuisance by altering the environment and leaving the county to pay to abate growing hazards such as the flooding that tests roads and bridges.

From Salon ● Apr. 10, 2026

Not only that, but that I had also been charged with resisting arrest and public nuisance.

From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023