alibi

[ al-uh-bahy ]
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noun,plural al·i·bis.
  1. Law. the defense by an accused person of having been elsewhere at the time an alleged offense was committed.

  2. an excuse, especially to avoid blame.

  1. a person used as one's excuse: My sick grandmother was my alibi for missing school.

verb (used without object)
  1. Informal. to give an excuse; offer a defense: to alibi for being late.

verb (used with object)
  1. Informal.

    • to provide an alibi for (someone): He alibied his friend out of a fix.

    • to make or find (one's way) by using alibis: to alibi one's way out of work.

Origin of alibi

1
First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin alibī (adverb): “in another place, elsewhere”

word story For alibi

Alibi in Latin is an adverb meaning “in or at another place.” Its earliest English uses, in the 18th century, are in legal contexts, both as an adverb and as a noun meaning “a plea of having been elsewhere.” The extended noun senses “excuse” and “person used as one's excuse” developed in the 20th century in the United States and occur in all but the most formal writing. As a verb alibi occurs mainly in informal use.

Other words for alibi

Words that may be confused with alibi

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for alibi

alibi

/ (ˈælɪˌbaɪ) /


nounplural -bis
  1. law

    • a defence by an accused person that he was elsewhere at the time the crime in question was committed

    • the evidence given to prove this

  2. informal an excuse

verb
  1. (tr) to provide with an alibi

Origin of alibi

1
C18: from Latin alibī elsewhere, from alius other + -bī as in ubī where

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012