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

Under the program, people with addiction who are arrested for low-level summary offenses, like disorderly conduct or public urination, would be given the option of seeking treatment instead of facing criminal penalties. —Mike D'onofrio, Axios, 8 Jan. 2025

Pending requests One request that has not yet been acted on is from Cindy Young, who was convicted of four misdemeanors in August for entering and remaining in the Capitol and disorderly conduct. —Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2025

Kerley was charged with resisting arrest without violence, battery against an officer and disorderly conduct. —Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 4 Jan. 2025

Kerley now faces charges of battery on a police officer, corrections officer, or firefighter, resisting an officer without violence and disorderly conduct. —Natasha Dye, People.com, 3 Jan. 2025

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.