plead

verb

pleaded ˈplē-dəd How to pronounce plead (audio) or pled also plead ˈpled How to pronounce plead (audio) ; pleading

intransitive verb

1
: to argue a case or cause in a court of law
2
a
: to make an allegation in an action or other legal proceeding
especially : to answer the previous pleading of the other party by denying facts therein stated or by alleging new facts
b
: to conduct pleadings
3
: to make a plea of a specified nature
plead not guilty
4
a
: to argue for or against a claim
b
: to entreat or appeal earnestly

transitive verb

1
: to maintain (a case, a cause, etc.) in a court of law or other tribunal
2
: to allege in or by way of a legal plea
3
: to offer as a plea usually in defense, apology, or excuse
pleadable adjective
pleader noun
pleadingly adverb

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Pleaded vs. Pled

Plead belongs to the same class of verbs as bleed, lead, and feed, and like them it has a past and past participle with a short vowel spelled pled (or sometimes plead, which is pronounced alike). From the beginning, pled has faced competition from the regular form pleaded, which eventually came to predominate in mainstream British English. Pled was and is used in Scottish English, which is likely how it came to American English. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, pled was attacked by many American usage commentators (perhaps because it was not in good British use). Though still sometimes criticized, it is fully respectable today and both pled (or plead) and pleaded are in good use in the U.S. In legal use (such as “pleaded guilty,” “pled guilty”), both forms are standard, though pleaded is used with greater frequency. In nonlegal use (such as “pleaded for help”), pleaded appears more commonly, though pled is also considered standard.

Examples of plead in a Sentence

He begged and pleaded, but she would not change her mind. She couldn't afford a lawyer to plead her case. “How do you plead?” asked the judge. “We plead guilty, Your Honor.” He agreed to plead to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
Recent Examples on the Web And those who have pleaded guilty to obstruction but have not yet been sentenced could withdraw those pleas. Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024 Murphy pleaded guilty in January to eight felony counts and four misdemeanor counts of cruelty to companion animals. Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 9 Apr. 2024 Dorsey was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and pleaded guilty in March 2008. Dakin Andone, CNN, 9 Apr. 2024 Police have booked on suspicion of murder a third suspect in a March 2020 homicide in northwest Fort Worth in which two others have pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Apr. 2024 Their attacker, 32-year-old Jose E. Escalante-Corchado, reached a deal and pleaded guilty last month to the lesser charge of second-degree murder in her killing and to the charge of first-degree assault of her daughter. Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 9 Apr. 2024 According to earlier filings in the case, Baldwin was offered the same terms as were extended to Dave Halls, the first assistant director who received unsupervised probation, and no jail time, after pleading to negligent handling of a deadly weapon. Gene Maddaus, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024 Petersen ultimately resigned from his position and pled guilty to some of those charges, receiving a total of 11 years in prison in Arizona and Arkansas. Sasha Hupka, The Arizona Republic, 8 Apr. 2024 Jackson, who lists no prior local criminal history, has remained in custody in lieu of a $200,000 bond since his arrest and pleaded innocent to all the charges Tuesday in Garland County Circuit Court. Steven Mross, arkansasonline.com, 7 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'plead.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English plaiden, pleden "to contend legally, argue in court, bring suit, answer a charge," borrowed from Anglo-French plaider, pleider, pleder "to maintain (a plea), bring an action against" (also continental Old French), verbal derivative of plaid, plé "action at law, plea."

Note: Middle English also had with the same senses pleten, from Anglo-French pleiter, pleter, formed from the variant noun pleit with final t (presumably evident when a vowel-initial word followed in Old French), which continued into early Modern English as plete, pleat.

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of plead was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near plead

Cite this Entry

“Plead.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plead. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

plead

verb
pleaded ˈplēd-əd How to pronounce plead (audio) or pled
ˈpled
; pleading
1
: to argue a case in a court of law
2
: to answer to a claim or charge in a court of law
plead not guilty
3
a
: to argue for or against a claim
plead a case before a jury
b
: to appeal earnestly : beg
4
: to offer as a defense, apology, or excuse
plead sickness
pleader noun

Legal Definition

plead

verb
pleaded or pled also plead ˈpled How to pronounce plead (audio) ; pleading

intransitive verb

1
: to make an allegation in an action or other legal proceeding
especially : to answer the pleading or charge of the other party by denying facts therein stated or by alleging new facts
the defendant shall be given a copy of the indictment or information before the defendant is called upon to plead Kansas Statutes Annotated
see also alternative
2
: to make a specific plea
plead not guilty
also : to make a plea of guilty
agreed to plead to the lesser charge

transitive verb

1
: to allege in or by way of a pleading : state in a pleading
unless plaintiff pleads and proves facts showing actual malice, he cannot recover punitive damagesKumaran v. Brotman, 617 N.E.2d 191 (1993)
plead a case of fraudulent conveyance
2
: to offer as an excuse
cannot plead ignorance of the law
pleadable adjective
pleader noun
Etymology

Anglo-French plaider to argue in a court of law, from Old French plaid legal action, trial more at plea

More from Merriam-Webster on plead

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