Meaning & use
lie under oath
Last updated
Meanings
phraseidiomlegallaw
To say something untrue while you have formally promised to tell the truth.
Grammar: Used as a verb phrase: the subject is the person who speaks, and no object follows.
Patterns
- lie under oath about something
- lie under oath to someone
- be accused of lying under oath
The witness was warned that if she lied under oath she could be charged with a crime.
He admitted that he had lied under oath about where he was that night.
Lawyers rarely ask a question that might force a client to lie under oath.
phraseidiomlegallaw
The act of giving false evidence after swearing to tell the truth, considered a serious offense.
Grammar: Often appears after verbs like accuse, charge, or convict, naming the offense rather than the physical action.
Patterns
- accuse someone of lying under oath
- be charged with lying under oath
- convict someone of lying under oath
Lying under oath is treated as a crime in most legal systems.
The judge said that lying under oath undermines the whole purpose of a trial.
She faced a separate charge of lying under oath during the earlier hearing.
Common combinations
- lie under oath in court
- If you lie under oath in court, you may go to prison.
- swear under oath
- All witnesses must swear under oath before they speak.
- testify under oath
- She testified under oath that she had never met him.
- accused of lying under oath
- The businessman was accused of lying under oath about his finances.
- charge someone with lying under oath
- Prosecutors decided to charge him with lying under oath.
Synonyms and how they differ
- perjure yourself
- A formal legal verb that means the same thing but focuses on the offense rather than the act of speaking.
- give false evidence
- A plainer, slightly more general phrase that can be used outside court contexts and does not always suggest a formal promise.
- bear false witness
- An old-fashioned, mainly religious expression for saying untrue things about someone, not tied to a courtroom oath.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: lie under oath or lie to? lie under oath or lay?
lie under oath vs lie to
Lie to someone simply means saying something untrue to a person; lying under oath adds the legal setting of a sworn promise.
lie under oath vs lay
Lay is a different verb meaning to put something down; the phrase is always lie under oath, never lay under oath.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
The phrase uses the verb lie (past tense lied), which means to say something untrue. Lay and laid mean to put something down, and lain is the past participle of lie meaning to rest flat, so none of the others fit this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lie under oath”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.