perjury
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of perjury
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English perjurie, from Anglo-French, from Latin perjūrium, from perjūr(us) “swearing falsely” ( see perjure) + -ium -ium; replacing parjure, from Old French, from Latin, as above
Explanation
Perjury is the act of deliberately lying under oath. A defendant in a murder trial commits perjury when he swears he never met the murder victim before, even though he had a two-year relationship with her. Although the word perjury contains jury, members of the jury aren't likely to commit perjury, because they're not under oath and haven't sworn to be truthful. A witness in a trial can commit perjury by willfully lying about facts related to the case. Perjury isn't just a little white lie. It's a crime that can land the person who commits it in jail.
Vocabulary lists containing perjury
The Crucible
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You Be the Judge: Jud, Jur, Jus
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A Web of Lies
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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.
See Examples For:
Supporters highlight that current law already demands voters attest to their citizenship under penalty of perjury, and they contend that constitutional amendments like Prop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
"Defendants were offered the opportunity to end this litigation by filing written declarations under the penalty of perjury... that the Fund will not proceed in any manner or under any other name," the judge said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
The judge gave the government a week to make a written and binding commitment under penalty of perjury to drop the fund.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
The investigation is looking into whether Carroll committed perjury in connection with civil cases she brought against Trump, the news outlet quotes sources as saying.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Perl was eventually tried and cleared of the espionage charges, but he was convicted of perjury for lying about his association with the Rosenbergs.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
This, Denery points out, gave liars some flexibility: They could perhaps justify their perjuries with a crop of favorable outcomes—not just for their neighbors, but for themselves too.
From Slate ● Feb. 6, 2015
The defense drew from Cook the admission that he had not been indicted for any of his perjuries.
From Time Magazine Archive
Several little harmless perjuries make an airtight case for the prosecution.
From Time Magazine Archive
Half way, at Leghorn, he sent letters to each of the five principal sovereigns of Europe declaring his last declaration just as null and void as his previous perjuries.
From A History of the Nineteenth Century, Year by Year Volume Two (of Three) by Emerson, Edwin
He cannot but deplore 'that in this little case so many perjuries should be added to the crime of treason, such as for my part I cannot but tremble to remember.'
From State Trials, Political and Social Volume 1 (of 2) by Stephen, Harry Lushington, Sir
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.
