suspended sentence

British

noun

a sentence of imprisonment that is not served by an offender unless he commits a further offence during its currency Compare deferred sentence

"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.

Six weeks after his initial arrest, A$AP was found guilty of assault and given a suspended sentence.

From BBC

A French court on Friday handed a suspended sentence to a 74-year-old man who last year broke an egg on the head of the leader of France's main far-right party -- and possible presidential candidate -- Jordan Bardella.

From Barron's

Former footballer Joey Barton has been handed a suspended sentence for social media posts about broadcaster Jeremy Vine and TV football pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko.

From BBC

As well as a suspended sentence, the court disqualified Duddy from driving or obtaining a licence for 18 months, fined him £85 costs plus £175 victim surcharge.

From BBC

The Danish police say he has been given a seven month suspended sentence for copyright infringement.

From BBC

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