[plee-bahr-gin] 
| 1. | to engage in plea bargaining. |
| 2. | to deal with or achieve by plea bargaining: to plea-bargain a reduced sentence. |
| 3. | the agreement arrived at as a result of plea bargaining. |
| plea-bar·gain (plē'bär'gən) intr.v. plea-bar·gained, plea-bar·gain·ing, plea-bar·gains To make an agreement in which a defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge and the prosecutor in return drops more serious charges. plea' bar'gain n., plea'-bar'gain·ing n. |
An agreement that permits a defendant to plead guilty to a lesser charge instead of pleading not guilty to a more serious one. Plea bargaining is usually undertaken by a prosecutor to obtain important information from a defendant or to avoid a long and costly trial.