plea
Americannoun
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an appeal or entreaty.
a plea for mercy.
- Synonyms:
- suit, solicitation, supplication, petition, request
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something that is alleged, urged, or pleaded in defense or justification.
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an excuse; pretext.
He begged off on the plea that his car wasn't working.
- Synonyms:
- justification
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Law.
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an allegation made by, or on behalf of, a party to a legal suit, in support of their claim or defense.
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a defendant's answer to a legal declaration or charge.
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(in courts of equity) a plea that admits the truth of the declaration, but alleges special or new matter in avoidance.
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Obsolete. a suit or action.
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idioms
noun
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an earnest entreaty or request
a plea for help
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-
law something alleged or pleaded by or on behalf of a party to legal proceedings in support of his claim or defence
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criminal law the answer made by an accused to the charge
a plea of guilty
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(in Scotland and formerly in England) a suit or action at law
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an excuse, justification, or pretext
he gave the plea of a previous engagement
Usage
What does plea mean? A plea is an intense request or appeal.It’s especially used to imply that the request is passionate and that the person doing the pleading is desperate.It’s especially used in serious situations. A person might make a plea to their friend to get help with an addiction. A kid might make a plea to their parents begging not to be grounded.In law, a plea is generally a defendant’s response to an accusation, as in a plea of guilty or not guilty. A plea-bargain is an agreement between a defendant and a prosecutor in which the defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge. The slang phrase cop a plea refers to this and can be used in nonlegal contexts.To make a plea is to plead.Example: When I was a kid, I used to beg my mom not to make me go to the dentist, but she always ignored my pleas.
Etymology
Origin of plea
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English ple, earlier plaid from Old French, from early Medieval Latin placitum “law-court, suit, decision, decree,” Latin: “opinion” (literally, “that which is pleasing or agreeable”), placēre “to please”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
His plea to old pal Hamilton arrived too late.
From Barron's
His plea to old pal Hamilton arrived too late.
From Barron's
Wolf Alice, winning best group, used their allotted stage time to make a plea for the "pubs, clubs and grassroots venues where we quite literally learned to play our instruments and write our songs".
From BBC
County judge to throw out the plea deal on the grounds that he was unaware of how it would affect his immigration status.
From Los Angeles Times
While they’ve secured guilty pleas in 23 of those cases, they had lost every case they took to trial until Friday.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
