indict

verb

in·​dict in-ˈdīt 

indicted; indicting; indicts

1

transitive + intransitive : to formally charge (someone) with a crime by the finding of a jury (such as a grand jury) : to formally accuse (someone) of a crime in an indictment

If either the IRS or the FBI decides a suspect has committed a crime, a lot of hurdles must be leaped before that individual is put in prison. The agents must gather evidence, persuade an independent prosecutor to present the evidence to a grand jury, make sure the evidence is convincing enough so that the grand jury will indict the suspect, and then present the evidence to a regular jury that decides whether the suspect is innocent or guilty.

—David Burnham

Traditionally the grand jury consisted of 23 persons with the favorable vote of a majority needed to indict. Today, many states use a somewhat smaller grand jury (e.g., 12) and some require more than a simple majority to indict.

—Wayne R. LaFave and Jerold H. Israel

2

transitive : To accuse (someone or something) of a weakness, failing, or wrong action

The relation between freedom and literacy became the compelling theme of the slave narratives, the great body of printed books that ex-slaves generated to assert their common humanity with white Americans and to indict the system that had oppressed them.

—Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Past studies have indicted high radon levels for an excess of lung cancers among underground hard-rock miners …

—J. Raloff

indicter noun

or indictor

in-ˈdī-tər 

Synonyms

• accuse
• charge
• criminate
• defame [archaic]
• impeach
• incriminate

Examples of indict in a Sentence

A grand jury is expected to indict him for murder.

the grand jury could indict the mayor for fraud and embezzlement

Recent Examples on the Web

In April 2025, two more alleged co-conspirators were indicted and subsequently arrested; their cases were unsealed only this week. —ArsTechnica, 14 June 2025

The day Abrego Garcia was indicted, Ben Schrader, chief of the criminal division for the Middle District of Tennessee, resigned. —Evan Mealins, USA Today, 14 June 2025

Caceres’ arrest came the same day that founder and former executive director of Queens Defenders, Lori Zeno, and her boyfriend and youth program director Rashad Ruhani, were indicted in Brooklyn federal court for stealing roughly $60,000 from the nonprofit. —Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 13 June 2025

Edgar Herrera Pardo was originally indicted in 2019 for his role in Los Cabos, a group of cartel enforcers the U.S. Attorney’s Office says worked to control the border region to ensure drug trafficking continued unabated for the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, or CJNG. —City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

alteration of earlier indite, from Middle English inditen, from Anglo-French enditer to write, point out, indict — more at indite

First Known Use

1531, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for indict

• affright
• airtight
• albite
• alight
• alright
• aplite
• aright
• bainite
• birthright
• bobwhite
• bornite
• bullfight

Video

Video: Why Is There a 'C' in 'Indict'?

And who put it there, anyway?

Kids Definition

indict

verb

in·​dict in-ˈdīt 

: to charge with an offense or crime : accuse

indictable

-ə-bəl

adjective

Legal Definition

indict

transitive verb

in·​dict in-ˈdīt 

: to charge with a crime by the finding or presentment of a grand jury in due form of law compare accuse, arraign, charge

Etymology

alteration of earlier indite, from Anglo-French enditer, from Old French, to write down, ultimately from Latin indicere to proclaim, from in- toward + dicere to say