prosecutor
Americannoun
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prosecutors
plural
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Law.
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a person, as a complainant or chief witness, instigating prosecution in a criminal proceeding.
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a person who prosecutes.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of prosecutor
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Medieval Latin, Late Latin prōsecūtor “pursuer”; see prosecute, -tor
Compare meaning
How does prosecutor compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
On a TV crime drama or in real life courts, the prosecutor is the person who brings criminal charges against a suspect. A prosecutor is a lawyer who works for a state or government organization and is responsible for starting legal proceedings and then proving in court that the suspect committed the crime he’s accused of. The opposite of a prosecutor is a defense attorney. So on that TV crime drama, the prosecutor is the one trying to put the bad guy in jail, and the defense attorney is the one trying to prove that the guy really isn’t a bad guy.
Vocabulary lists containing prosecutor
Monster
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Ghost Boys
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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.
See Examples For:
A month later, a state prosecutor said he could not prove Musk’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and would not bring charges.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
California’s top prosecutor blasts Paramount-Warner Bros. conduct as ‘amateur hour.’
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Rouen prosecutor Sebastien Gallois said 44 people were injured including an 18-year-old woman evacuated "in a critical condition", while tests for drugs and alcohol on the train driver had come back negative.
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
"Initially, paramedics thought Veronica Irwin had already died," prosecutor Phil Barnes KC told Carlisle Crown Court.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
When the prosecutor was finished, the defense lawyer whispered to Jordan, started to get up, then sat back down.
From "Forged by Fire" by Sharon M. Draper
Failure to adequately police money laundering could violate federal laws about money laundering, illicit transmission and possibly bank fraud, former federal prosecutors said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Bonta has said that Ellison’s pledge for the two studios to release 30 films a year wasn’t enough to end the legal wrangling because prosecutors often are powerless to enforce conditions after a deal closes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
Turkish authorities also referred 38 people to prosecutors for alleged financial crimes in connection with the scandal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
A trial of the facts is an option that is open to prosecutors if a court determines that a person is unfit to stand trial and criminal proceedings cannot go ahead.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Singleton explained that the prosecutors were now looking at the case.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
