second-degree murder
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of second-degree murder
An Americanism dating back to 1945–50
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.
Grossman, who is 62 years old and the wife of prominent plastic surgeon Dr. Peter Grossman, was convicted of second-degree murder and is serving 15 years to life in prison for the boys’ deaths.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026
The officer involved was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to seven years in prison.
From Salon • Apr. 6, 2026
In 2021, a Minnesota jury convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on a second-degree murder charge in connection with the 2020 in-custody death of George Floyd.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026
The second-degree murder charges now facing Mr Gray may be due to specific wording in Georgia law.
From BBC • Sep. 6, 2024
Another Louisiana man, Johnny Lee Ball, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after meeting with a public defender for just eleven minutes before trial.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
