Definitions for defendant
dɪˈfɛn dənt or, esp. in court, -dæntde·fen·dant

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.0 / 4 votes

1. defendant, suspectnoun

   a person or institution against whom an action is brought in a court of law; the person being sued or accused

WiktionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 2 votes

1. defendantnoun

   In civil proceedings, the party responding to the complaint; one who is sued and called upon to make satisfaction for a wrong complained of by another.

2. defendantnoun

   In criminal proceedings, the accused.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Defendantadjective

   Defensive; fit for defence.

   Etymology: from defendo, Latin.

   Line and new repair our towns of war
   With men of courage, and with means defendant. William Shakespeare.

2. Defendantnoun

   Etymology: from the adjective.

   1. He that defends against assailants.

   Those high towers, out of which the Romans might more conveniently fight with the defendants on the wall, those also were broken by his engines. John Wilkins, Math. Mag.

   2. [In law.] The person accused or sued.

   This is the day appointed for the combat,
   And ready are th’ appellant and defendant. William Shakespeare, Henry VI.

   Plaintiff dog, and bear defendant. Hudibras.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Defendant

   In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one jurisdiction to another. In Scots law, the terms "accused" or "panel" are used instead in criminal proceedings and "defender" in civil proceedings. Another term in use is "respondent".

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. defendant

   A defendant is a person, company, or entity who is accused in a court of law or against whom a lawsuit or criminal prosecution has been initiated. They are required to respond to a plaintiff's allegations or the charges towards them by the prosecution in a lawsuit or criminal case.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Defendantadjective

   serving, or suitable, for defense; defensive

2. Defendantadjective

   making defense

3. Defendantnoun

   one who defends; a defender

4. Defendantnoun

   a person required to make answer in an action or suit; -- opposed to plaintiff

5. Etymology: [F. dfendant, p. pr. of dfendre. See Defend.]

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Defendant

   In a criminal trial, a defendant is any person accused of committing an offence, an act defined as punishable under criminal law. The other party to a criminal trial is usually a public prosecutor. In a lawsuit, a defendant is also the accused party, although not of an offence, but of a civil wrong. The person who started the civil action through filing a complaint is referred to as the plaintiff. Defendants in civil actions usually make their first court appearance voluntarily in response to a summons. But criminal defendants are often taken into custody by police and brought before a court under an arrest warrant. Historically, civil defendants could be taken into custody under a writ of capias ad respondendum and be forced to post bail before being released. But modern-day civil defendants are usually able to avoid most court appearances if represented by a lawyer. Criminal defendants are usually obliged to post bail before being released from custody and must be present at every stage of the proceedings against them.

Matched Categories

1. • Law
   • Litigant

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'defendant' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3010

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'defendant' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4703

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'defendant' in Nouns Frequency: #935

How to pronounce defendant?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say defendant in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of defendant in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of defendant in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of defendant in a Sentence

1. Kendall Coffey:

   ...what’s so important about this law is, it applies to torture wherever it takes place in the world if one is perpetrated by a U.S. citizen, which happened to be the case with this defendant, but also, if somebody else steps foot in the United States who has committed torture crimes in a foreign country, that person can also be prosecuted. " Kendall Coffey on the trial of Chucky Taylor.

2. Ary Soenardi:

   The defendant still regrets and feels sad over the death of her late mother, as the only child, the defendant has lost the love of a mother.

3. Harlan F. Stone:

   If a juror feels that the statute involved in any criminal offence is unfair, or that it infringes upon the defendant's natural god-given unalienable or constitutional rights, then it is his duty to affirm that the offending statute is really no law at all and that the violation of it is no crime at all, for no one is bound to obey an unjust law.

4. Prosecutor Creighton Waters:

   After an exhaustive investigation, there is only one person who had the motive, who had the means, who had the opportunity to commit these crimes, and also whose guilty conduct after these crimes betrays him, this defendant is the one person who was living a lie, the defendant is the person on which a storm was descending, and the defendant was a person where his own storm would actually mean consequences for Maggie and Paul and consequences for those who trusted him.

5. Kendall Coffey:

   This is an aggressive charge,” Kendall Coffey said. “And there are times when an aggressive charge gives more incentive for the defendant to seek a plea. The vast majority of cases don’t go to trial and end in a plea.”

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