prosecute

«prosecute» in Mova's school dictionary: To officially accuse someone of a crime in a court of law… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

verb (prosecute, prosecutes, prosecuted, prosecuting)

meaning for a pupil

1) (law) To officially accuse someone of a crime in a court of law and try to prove they are guilty. tree →

2) (formal) To carry on or continue something, such as a war or a plan, until it is finished. tree →

sense in the lessons

In law and citizenship lessons: the police or state (the prosecution) prosecute a person accused of a crime; the defence argues for them; the judge or jury decides. Signs warn: «Trespassers will be prosecuted». History books say a country «prosecuted the war».

examples

• Shoplifters will be prosecuted. tree →
• The police decided to prosecute the driver for speeding. tree →
• He was prosecuted for stealing a car. tree →
• The lawyer who prosecutes is called the prosecutor. tree →
• The sign said trespassers would be prosecuted. tree →
• The general prosecuted the war for five years. tree →

note

Regular verb. Related: prosecution, prosecutor. Common trap: «prosecute» (take to court) and «persecute» (treat cruelly, especially for beliefs) sound alike but mean very different things.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «prosecute» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.