capital punishment

noun

: punishment by death : the practice of killing people as punishment for serious crimes

called also death penalty

Examples of capital punishment in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Four years ago, Tennessee's governor ordered another independent review into capital punishment after abruptly stopping the April 2022 execution of Oscar Smith. — Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026

Pike is the first person to survive after being injected with lethal doses of execution drugs, the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit thatmonitors capital punishment, said in a statement. — Victoria Craw, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026

Four years before that, the governor ordered an independent review into capital punishment after abruptly stopping the April 2022 execution of Oscar Smith in the 11th hour when officials became aware of a mishandling of the drugs. — ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026

Now the 50-year-old’s botched capital punishment has drawn fresh attention to concerns about the fairness of her murder trial. — Chas Newkey-Burden, TheWeek, 1 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1581, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

capital punishment

noun

: death penalty