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# prosecute

«prosecute» in Mova's school dictionary: **To officially accuse someone of a crime in a court of law…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

verb (prosecute, prosecutes, prosecuted, prosecuting)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (law) To officially accuse someone of a crime in a court of law and try to prove they are guilty. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prosecute/#m1)

2) (formal) To carry on or continue something, such as a war or a plan, until it is finished. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prosecute/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In law and citizenship lessons: the police or state (the prosecution) prosecute a person accused of a crime; the defence argues for them; the judge or jury decides. Signs warn: «Trespassers will be prosecuted». History books say a country «prosecuted the war».

### examples

- Shoplifters will be prosecuted. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prosecute/#x1)
- The police decided to prosecute the driver for speeding. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prosecute/#x2)
- He was prosecuted for stealing a car. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prosecute/#x3)
- The lawyer who prosecutes is called the prosecutor. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prosecute/#x4)
- The sign said trespassers would be prosecuted. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prosecute/#x5)
- The general prosecuted the war for five years. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prosecute/#x6)

### note

Regular verb. Related: prosecution, prosecutor. Common trap: «prosecute» (take to court) and «persecute» (treat cruelly, especially for beliefs) sound alike but mean very different things.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «prosecute» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prosecute/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.