Definition of "prosecution" []

• The act of prosecuting. (noun)
• The institution and conduct of a legal proceeding. (noun)
• See prosecuting attorney. (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.

• "The controversy over the policing and prosecution of assisted dying ­intensified tonight when another septuagenarian invited arrest and criminal ­prosecution by admitting that he helped his wife kill herself with an overdose of antidepressants."
• "Bailey, a member of the ad hoc "PhonyBusters" team, said one of the problems in prosecution is that there are so many swindles."
• "The defendant has quite a lot to lose in the case while the only thing at stake for the prosecution is the reputation of the prosecutor."