prosecute
verbattested in dialogue
- //ˈpɹɒsɪkjuːt//
To start criminal proceedings against.
verb
- 1
To start criminal proceedings against.
to prosecute a man for trespass, or for a riot
To acquit themſelves and proſecute their foes
- 2
To charge, try.
The Vigilante is prosecuted in Federal Court under a lynch bill and winds up in a Federal Nut House specially designed for the containment of ghosts […]
- 3
To seek to obtain by legal process.
to prosecute a right or a claim in a court of law
- 4
To pursue something to the end.
to prosecute a scheme, hope, or an investigation
I am beloved of beauteous Hermia; / Why should not I, then, prosecute my right?
Nor do we believe that a country that prosecuted two wars in China in the 19th century to force the Chinese to accept opium imports has any moral right to lecture Asians on drugs.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin prōsecūtus, perfect participle of prōsequor. Doublet of pursue, from Old French. Compare also persecute.
Forms
- past tense
- prosecuted
- past participle
- prosecuted
- present participle
- prosecuting
- third person singular
- prosecutes
prosecute · To start criminal proceedings against.
prosecution · The act of prosecuting a scheme or endeavor.prosecutor · A prosecuting attorney.prospect · The region which the eye overlooks at one time; a view; a…