Definition of "plea" []

• An earnest request; an appeal: spoke out in a plea for greater tolerance. (noun)
• An excuse; a pretext: "necessity,/The Tyrant's plea” ( John Milton). (noun)
• Law An allegation offered in pleading a case. (noun)
• Law A defendant's answer to the declaration made by the plaintiff in a civil action. (noun)
• Law The answer of the accused to a criminal charge or indictment: entered a plea of not guilty. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• ""Which plea shell be in the nature of a declaration sa Clause, in one or more counts, as the nature of the case may require; and if the plaintiff shall plead the general is - sue to any or all the counts in the defendant's plea, or shall eeofeaa the eanee of aetien contained in any or all the counts in the deiendant's plea* he may in Uke manner plead an offset of any sum or sums due to him from the defendant, as aforesaid, and the issue and pleadings being closed, the jury shall he directed to find generaUy such, sum or aums as shall he found in arrear from either, and judgment shall ha rendered thereon accordingly.""
• "When the plea is accepted, a different date will be set for sentencing, probably"
• "Both men pleaded guilty to fraud on Thursday, and if the plea is accepted by the court, they'll spend 87 months in prison, be forced to resign from the bench and the bar, and lose their pension benefits."