Meaning & use
prosecutor
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A lawyer who represents the government in a criminal trial and tries to prove that the accused person is guilty.
Grammar: Countable: a prosecutor, the prosecutor, prosecutors.
Patterns
- a prosecutor
- the prosecutor
- prosecutors
The prosecutor presented DNA evidence to the jury.
She works as a prosecutor in the city's district attorney's office.
The prosecutor asked the witness to describe what she saw.
Word forms
| plural | prosecutors |
|---|
Common combinations
- public prosecutor
- The public prosecutor decided to drop the charges.
- district attorney
- The district attorney acted as the prosecutor in the high-profile case.
- chief prosecutor
- The chief prosecutor announced new charges against the company.
- prosecutor's office
- She works in the prosecutor's office downtown.
Synonyms and how they differ
- district attorney
- In the US, a district attorney is a specific type of prosecutor elected or appointed for a district; prosecutor is the general term.
- state's attorney
- Similar to a district attorney; used in some US states.
- Crown prosecutor
- In the UK and Commonwealth countries, a Crown prosecutor is the equivalent of a public prosecutor.
Opposites
Word family
- prosecute verb
- To bring criminal charges against someone in court.
- prosecution noun
- The act of prosecuting or the side that prosecutes in a trial.
Commonly confused: prosecutor or persecutor?
prosecutor vs persecutor
A persecutor is someone who treats others cruelly, often because of their beliefs; a prosecutor is a legal official.
Practice
In a criminal trial, who is responsible for presenting evidence against the accused?
Choose one answer.
The prosecutor represents the government and presents evidence to prove the accused is guilty. The defense attorney argues for the accused, the judge ensures the trial is fair, and witnesses give testimony.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “prosecutor”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.