disorderly conduct

noun

: a petty offense chiefly against public order and decency that falls short of an indictable misdemeanor

Examples of disorderly conduct in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The original charges — three felony counts of reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon and one misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct — were pled down this week. —Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 13 Dec. 2024

He is charged with three counts of felony reckless endangerment and one count of disorderly conduct. —Denise Petski, Deadline, 12 Dec. 2024

This marked the end of an eight-month legal battle, where initially Wallen was charged with three felony counts of reckless endangerment and one misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Dec. 2024

The six men arrested face assault and disorderly conduct charges, police said. —Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 26 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1786, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

disorderly conduct

noun

dis·​or·​der·​ly conduct

: conduct that is likely to lead to a disturbance of the public peace or that offends public decency

also : the petty offense of engaging in disorderly conduct compare breach of the peace

Note: The term disorderly conduct is used in statutes to identify various acts against the public peace. It has been held to include the use of obscene language in public, the blocking of public ways, and the making of threats. A statute must identify acts that constitute disorderly conduct with sufficient clarity in order to avoid being held unconstitutional because of vagueness.