Meaning & use
alibi
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Meanings
nouncountable
Evidence or a claim that a person was somewhere else when a crime happened.
Grammar: Often used with 'have', 'provide', or 'establish'.
Patterns
- have an alibi
- provide an alibi for someone
- a perfect alibi
The suspect had a solid alibi: he was at work when the robbery occurred.
She provided an alibi for her brother, saying they were together all evening.
Without an alibi, the police kept him in custody.
nouncountableinformaldisapproving
An excuse or reason given to avoid blame, often one that is not believed.
Grammar: Informal and often disapproving; the precise legal meaning is the first sense.
Patterns
- use something as an alibi
- a convenient alibi
He used his bad back as an alibi for missing the meeting.
That's just an alibi—you simply forgot to do your homework.
She always has an alibi when there's work to be done.
Word forms
| plural | alibis |
|---|
Common combinations
- a perfect alibi
- The lawyer argued that the video gave his client a perfect alibi.
- establish an alibi
- The defense tried to establish an alibi through phone records.
- an alibi for
- Can anyone give an alibi for the night of the 14th?
- a false alibi
- He was charged with giving a false alibi to the police.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- alibi verb
- To offer an excuse or defense, especially in a legal context (rare).
Commonly confused: alibi or alias?
alibi vs alias
Alias is a false name; alibi is proof of being elsewhere. They sound similar but mean very different things.
Practice
The suspect claimed he was at the cinema when the crime took place. What did he provide?
Choose one answer.
An alibi is evidence that you were elsewhere when a crime happened. An alias is a false name, an allergy is a medical reaction, and an allegation is an accusation.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “alibi”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.