Meaning & use
jumping bail
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phraselegallaw
The crime of failing to appear in court after a judge has released you on bail.
Grammar: Used as a noun phrase: 'He was charged with jumping bail.'
Patterns
- be charged with jumping bail
- be accused of jumping bail
The defendant was arrested at the airport and charged with jumping bail.
She was already on trial for jumping bail when the new fraud charges were filed.
Jumping bail can add years to a sentence, so most lawyers advise clients to appear.
Common combinations
- charge someone with jumping bail
- Prosecutors charged him with jumping bail after he missed three hearings.
- accuse someone of jumping bail
- The newspaper accused the businessman of jumping bail and fleeing abroad.
- be wanted for jumping bail
- He is still wanted for jumping bail in two states.
Synonyms and how they differ
- skipping bail
- More informal and common in news headlines; it means the same thing but sounds less technical.
- absconding
- A broader formal word meaning to leave secretly to avoid arrest or trial; it does not always involve bail.
Commonly confused: jumping bail or jumping ship?
jumping bail vs jumping ship
This idiom means leaving an organization or group when things get difficult, not failing to appear in court.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'jumping bail' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Only the first sentence uses the legal phrase in its fixed meaning of failing to appear in court after being released on bail. The others confuse it with literal jumping or with other expressions.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “jumping bail”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.