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Meaning & use

plead guilty

verb, phrase·Academiclegal

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UK/pliːd ˈɡɪlti/
US/pliːd ˈɡɪlti/

Meanings

  1. verbintransitivelegal

    To tell a court officially that you did commit the crime you are accused of.

    Grammar: Takes no object, but can be followed by to a charge: plead guilty to theft.

    Patterns

    • plead guilty to something
    • plead guilty to a charge

    The driver pleaded guilty to careless driving.

    She decided to plead guilty to avoid a long trial.

    Two of the three defendants pleaded guilty on the first day.

  2. phraseidiominformalhumorous

    To admit in everyday speech that you are to blame for something small, often with a smile.

    Grammar: Used lightly and informally: I plead guilty to eating the last cookie.

    Patterns

    • plead guilty to something

    I plead guilty to leaving the dishes in the sink again.

    He pleads guilty to being a terrible dancer.

    Yes, I plead guilty to reading your diary, but only the first page.

Word forms

third person singularpleads guilty
past tensepleaded guilty
past participlepleaded guilty
-ing formpleading guilty

Common combinations

plead guilty to a charge
He pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud.
plead guilty to a lesser charge
She agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge.
expected to plead guilty
The manager is expected to plead guilty next week.
plead guilty in court
He pleaded guilty in court on Monday.
plead guilty by reason of
The lawyer would not let him plead guilty without a deal.

Synonyms and how they differ

admit guilt
Admit guilt can happen anywhere, but plead guilty is a formal step taken in court.
confess
Confess means to admit wrongdoing to anyone, even police or a friend, while plead guilty is a legal statement made to a court.
own up
Own up is informal and used for small mistakes, so it is closer to the casual sense than to the court sense.

Opposites

plead not guiltydeny the charge

Word family

plea noun
a formal answer to a charge in court
guilty adjective
having done wrong
guilt noun
the fact of having committed an offense or the feeling of it
guiltily adverb
in a way that shows guilt

Commonly confused: plead guilty or find guilty?

plead guilty vs find guilty

A defendant pleads guilty, but a judge or jury finds a defendant guilty after hearing the case.

Practice

The defendant chose to ___ to the theft charge instead of going to trial.

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