criminal law

noun

: the law of crimes and their punishments

Examples of criminal law in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Standard Chartered Industry: Banking Size of company: 75,000+ Most notable skills: Commercial banking, criminal law, investment banking Most common job titles: Business development officer, business analyst, product team manager 8. Ernestine Siu, CNBC, 15 Apr. 2025 On top of that, criminal law prevents SGEs (as well as federal workers) from participating in any government matter that could impact their finances. Joe Hernandez, NPR, 13 Feb. 2025 The law, invoked during the War of 1812 and World Wars I and II, requires a president to declare the United States is at war, giving him extraordinary powers to detain or remove foreigners who otherwise would have protections under immigration or criminal laws. Regina Garcia Cano, Twin Cities, 17 Mar. 2025 The law requires a president to declare the U.S. is at war, giving him extraordinary powers to detain or remove foreigners who otherwise would have protections under immigration or criminal laws. Marcos Alemán and Regina Garcia Cano, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for criminal law

Word History

First Known Use

1672, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of criminal law was in 1672

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Cite this Entry

“Criminal law.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/criminal%20law. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

Legal Definition

criminal law

noun
: public law that deals with crimes and their prosecution compare civil law

Note: Substantive criminal law defines crimes, and procedural criminal law sets down criminal procedure. Substantive criminal law was originally common law for the most part. It was later codified and is now found in federal and state statutory law.

More from Merriam-Webster on criminal law

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