defending
Origin of defendant
Middle English defendaunt from Old French defendant, present participle of defendreLaw the defending party; person sued or accused
noun
The definition of a defendant is a person being sued or accused of a crime.
An example of a defendant is someone accused of driving under the influence.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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"defendant." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/defendant>.
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defendant. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/defendant
defendant
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"defendant." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/defendant>.
APA Style
defendant. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/defendant
defendant
noun
LawThe party against which an action is brought.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"defendant." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/defendant>.
APA Style
defendant. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/defendant
Noun
(plural defendants)
- (law) 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.
- (law) In criminal proceedings, the accused.
Adjective
(comparative more defendant, superlative most defendant)
- Serving, or suitable, for defense; defensive.
Origin
See also: défendantFrom Anglo-Norman
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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MLA Style
"defendant." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/defendant>.
APA Style
defendant. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/defendant
defendant - Legal Definition
n
In a criminal trial, the
accused; in a civil proceeding, the person or entity against whom a claim is
made.
Webster's New World Law Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"defendant." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/defendant>.
APA Style
defendant. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/defendant
Sentence Examples
- When a divorce is granted, the defendant is not permitted to marry other than the plaintiff for three years, unless the plaintiff dies.
- When a defendant was of rank superior to that of the plaintiff, distress had to be preceded by troscad (=fasting).
- 22 Similarly in Job the bne Elohim, sons of God, appear as attendants of God, and amongst them Satan, still in his role of public prosecutor, the defendant being Job.
- A libel suit he instituted in London against Sir Valentine Chirol for statements made in Indian Unrest (1910) ended in a verdict for the defendant with costs (Feb.
- The judges at Babylon seem to have formed a superior court to those of provincial towns, but a defendant might elect to answer the charge before the local court and refuse to plead at Babylon.
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Words near defendant in the dictionary
- defendant
- defendants
- defendaunt
- defended