criminal law

noun

: the law of crimes and their punishments

Examples of criminal law in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

What's next: The legislation, which also would make revisions to other criminal laws, is still in its early stages, and its fate remains uncertain. —Lucille Sherman, Axios, 18 Mar. 2025

This legislation grants the president the authority to detain or expel foreign nationals if the country is officially at war, bypassing usual protections under immigration and criminal laws. —David Faris, Newsweek, 17 Mar. 2025

Kelsey served as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees changes to civil and criminal laws, judicial proceedings and more. —CBS News, 12 Mar. 2025

Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather asked the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation last March to investigate the analyst, who authorities have not named, and determine if the analyst violated criminal law by tampering with the DNA testing process. —Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 12 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1672, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for criminal law

• avoirdupois
• aa
• aha
• bashaw
• bradshaw
• byelaw
• bylaw
• chainsaw
• cheraw
• coleslaw
• crenshaw
• dada

Legal Definition

criminal law

noun

: public law that deals with crimes and their prosecution compare civil law

Note: Substantive criminal law defines crimes, and procedural criminal law sets down criminal procedure. Substantive criminal law was originally common law for the most part. It was later codified and is now found in federal and state statutory law.