prosecute

English

Etymology

From Latin prōsecūtus, perfect participle of prōsequor. Compare persecute.

Verb

prosecute (third-person singular simple present prosecutes, present participle prosecuting, simple past and past participle prosecuted)

  1. (transitive, law) To start criminal proceedings against.
    to prosecute a man for trespass, or for a riot
    • Milton
      To acquit themselves and prosecute their foes.
  2. (transitive, law) To charge, try.
    • 1959, William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch, page 9
      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. (transitive) To pursue something to the end.
    to prosecute a scheme, hope, or claim
    • Shakespeare
      I am beloved of beauteous Hermia; / Why should not I, then, prosecute my right?

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Anagrams

Latin

Participle

prōsecūte

  1. vocative masculine singular of prōsecūtus
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