Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "prosecute" []

  • Law To initiate civil or criminal court action against. (verb-transitive)
  • Law To seek to obtain or enforce by legal action. (verb-transitive)
  • To pursue (an undertaking, for example) until completion; follow to the very end. (verb-transitive)
  • To chase or pursue (a vessel): "He held a dispatch saying that [they] had prosecuted and probably killed an Echo-class missile submarine” ( Tom Clancy). (verb-transitive)
  • To carry on, engage in, or practice. (verb-transitive)

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.

Use "prosecute" in a sentence
  • "A good and proper result from the courts for a change, the CPS decision to prosecute is at best very suspect. on March 31, 2010 at 8: 38 pm RD"
  • "Now you want to say that the decision to prosecute is Holder's decision, and his alone."
  • "Now, America sees all the more glaringly your integrity faults … and once you're out of the nomination race and the courts can once again prosecute you … we'll see it even further."