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prosecute
2 dictionary results for: Prosecuted
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
pros·e·cute       [pros-i-kyoot] Pronunciation Key verb, -cut·ed, -cut·ing.
–verb (used with object)
1.Law.
a.to institute legal proceedings against (a person).
b.to seek to enforce or obtain by legal process.
c.to conduct criminal proceedings in court against.
2.to follow up or carry forward something undertaken or begun, usually to its completion: to prosecute a war.
3.to carry on or practice.
–verb (used without object)
4.Law.
a.to institute and carry on a legal prosecution.
b.to act as prosecutor.
[Origin: 1400–50; late ME prosecuten to follow up, go on with < L prōsecūtus, ptp. of prōsequī to pursue, proceed with, equiv. to prō- pro-1 + secū-, var. s. of sequī to follow + -tus ptp. suffix]

—Related forms
pros·e·cut·a·ble, adjective
pros·e·cut·a·bil·i·ty, noun

—Synonyms 3. perform, discharge, execute, conduct.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
pros·e·cute       (prŏs'ĭ-kyōōt')  Pronunciation Key 
v.   pros·e·cut·ed, pros·e·cut·ing, pros·e·cutes

v.   tr.
  1. Law
    1. To initiate civil or criminal court action against.
    2. To seek to obtain or enforce by legal action.
    3. To pursue (an undertaking, for example) until completion; follow to the very end.
    4. To chase or pursue (a vessel): "He held a dispatch saying that [they] had prosecuted and probably killed an Echo-class missile submarine" (Tom Clancy).
    1. To pursue (an undertaking, for example) until completion; follow to the very end.
    2. To chase or pursue (a vessel): "He held a dispatch saying that [they] had prosecuted and probably killed an Echo-class missile submarine" (Tom Clancy).
  3. To carry on, engage in, or practice.

v.   intr. Law
  1. To initiate and conduct legal proceedings.
  2. To act as prosecutor.


[Middle English prosecuten, from Latin prōsequī, prōsecūt- : prō-, forward; see pro-1 + sequī, to follow; see sekw-1 in Indo-European roots.]

pros'e·cut'a·ble adj.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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