Prosecute
//ˈpɹɒsɪkjuːt// verb
verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To start criminal proceedings against. transitive
"to prosecute a man for trespass, or for a riot"
- 2 carry out or participate in an activity; be involved in wordnet
- 3 To charge, try. transitive
"The Vigilante is prosecuted in Federal Court under a lynch bill and winds up in a Federal Nut House specially designed for the containment of ghosts […]"
- 4 bring a criminal action against (in a trial) wordnet
- 5 To seek to obtain by legal process.
"to prosecute a right or a claim in a court of law"
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- 6 conduct a prosecution in a court of law wordnet
- 7 To pursue something to the end. transitive
"to prosecute a scheme, hope, or an investigation"
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"There are lots of signs warning that they prosecute shoplifters."
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin prōsecūtus, perfect participle of prōsequor. Doublet of pursue, from Old French. Compare also persecute.
Related phrases
More for "prosecute"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.