pass sentence
idiom
law
: to announce a guilty person's punishment in a court of law
Before passing sentence, the judge commented on the seriousness of the crime.
Examples of pass sentence in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The job of the judge and jury in Saint Omer, the small city in northern France where the trial takes place, is to figure out why Laurence killed Elise and to pass sentence on her.
—
A.o. Scott, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2023
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
A.o. Scott, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2023
Dictionary Entries Near pass sentence
Cite this Entry
“Pass sentence.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pass%20sentence. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share