plead

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitive

   To beg for something in an urgent, emotional way, or to appeal to someone to act kindly or change their mind.

   Grammar: Usually followed by with or for: plead with the guard, plead for mercy.

   Patterns

   • plead with someone
   • plead for something
   • plead with someone to do something

   The little boy pleaded with his mother to let him stay up for the fireworks.

   Villagers pleaded for more help after the flood destroyed their crops.

   She pleaded with her landlord to give her one more week to pay.

2. 2verbtransitive or intransitivelegal

   To state formally in a court of law whether you admit or deny the crime you are accused of.

   Grammar: Often followed by a plea word: plead guilty, plead not guilty; no object is needed.

   Patterns

   • plead guilty
   • plead not guilty to something
   • plead no contest

   The driver pleaded guilty to speeding and was fined.

   Both defendants pleaded not guilty to the fraud charges.

   On the advice of her lawyer, she pleaded no contest.

3. 3verbtransitiveformal

   To offer something as your excuse or reason when explaining why you did or did not do something.

   Grammar: Takes an object that names the excuse: plead ignorance, not plead that I forgot.

   Patterns

   • plead ignorance
   • plead something as an excuse

   He pleaded ignorance when the inspector asked about the missing permit.

   Several students pleaded illness to avoid the exam.

   She could not plead poverty, since she had just bought a new car.

Word forms

Common combinations

plead guilty

He pleaded guilty to theft at the first hearing.

plead for mercy

The captured soldier pleaded for mercy.

plead with someone

I pleaded with the driver to wait for my sister.

plead ignorance

The manager pleaded ignorance of the new rules.

plead desperately

She pleaded desperately for someone to call an ambulance.

Synonyms and how they differ

beg

Beg is plainer and more common in speech, and it can suggest humiliation, while plead often keeps some dignity.

implore

Implore is more formal and intense, and is nearly always followed by a person you are asking directly.

appeal

Appeal is calmer and often addresses a person's sense of fairness or an official body rather than expressing raw emotion.

entreat

Entreat is old-fashioned and literary, found in written stories more than in conversation.

Opposites

Word family

plea noun

an urgent request, or a formal statement of guilt or innocence in court

pleading noun

the act of begging earnestly, or a formal court document

pleadingly adverb

in a begging, emotional manner

pleader noun

someone who pleads, especially in a legal case

Commonly confused: plead or please?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “plead”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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