queen's evidence

British

noun

Also called (when the sovereign is male): king's evidence. US equivalent: state's evidence. English law (when the sovereign is female) evidence given for the Crown against his or her former associates in crime by an accomplice (esp in the phrase turn queen's evidence )

"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

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.

"True,--and I look forward to turning Queen's evidence."

From Project Gutenberg

Of course we might, if he were arrested, allow him to turn Queen's evidence, but there is always a certain feeling against this class of witness.

From Project Gutenberg

I was then the sole occupant of the Queen's evidence side of the prison, a place I had chosen as I preferred to be alone.

From Project Gutenberg

True to his unvarying principles, he turned Queen's evidence.

From Project Gutenberg

If I'd dared to risk it, I'd have blabbed on you quick enough; but there was no bait about Queen's evidence, and I daren't let on a word else—you may thank the devil for that, not me!

From Project Gutenberg

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