prosecute B2 Topic:Law & Government US /ˈpɹɒsɪkjuːt/ See IPA manual Freq #10739 Meanings 1 verb To officially accuse someone of a crime and try them in court. The state prosecuted him for theft. 2 verb To conduct a legal case against someone in court. A government lawyer was appointed to prosecute the case. 3 verb To continue with an activity or plan in order to complete it. They prosecuted the investigation for several months. Thesaurus Word family Forms prosecutedprosecutesprosecuting Derived forms misprosecutenonprosecutedoverprosecuteprosecutabilityprosecutableprosecuteeprosecutionprosecutivereprosecuteunprosecuted Etymology AI details Borrowed from Latin prōsecūtus, perfect participle of prōsequor. Doublet of pursue, from Old French. Compare also persecute. *per- Proto-Indo-European prōsecūtus Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Law & Government Crime & Justice External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # prosecute **Type:** Word **Level:** B2 **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /ˈpɹɒsɪkjuːt/ **Frequency rank:** 10739 ## Meanings 1. To officially accuse someone of a crime and try them in court. 2. To conduct a legal case against someone in court. 3. To continue with an activity or plan in order to complete it. ## Examples - The state prosecuted him for theft. - A government lawyer was appointed to prosecute the case. - They prosecuted the investigation for several months. ## Derived Forms - misprosecute - nonprosecuted - overprosecute - prosecutability - prosecutable - prosecutee - prosecution - prosecutive - reprosecute - unprosecuted ## Roots and Affixes - Root: *per- - Root: prōsecūtus ## Etymology Borrowed from Latin prōsecūtus, perfect participle of prōsequor. Doublet of pursue, from Old French. Compare also persecute. ## AI Etymology Prosecute was borrowed from Latin prōsecūtus, perfect participle of prōsequor. Doublet of pursue, from Old French. Compare also persecute. The historical chain includes *per- (Proto-Indo-European), prōsecūtus (Latin). In present-day English it covers to officially accuse someone of a crime and try them in court, to conduct a legal case against someone in court, and to continue with an activity or plan in order to complete it. The wider family includes derived forms such as misprosecute, nonprosecuted, overprosecute, prosecutability, prosecutable. ## Topics - Law & Government - Crime & Justice markdown