criminal law

noun

: the law of crimes and their punishments

Examples of criminal law in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While there is no formal domestic terrorism statute, the Justice Department has historically used a variety of other criminal laws to charge violent extremists and pursued terrorism enhancements at sentencing. — Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026

But under New York criminal law — which will be applied here — this is not the definition that will be used. — Ilana Turko, New York Daily News, 4 Oct. 2026

On June 15, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the devices are slot machines governed by the state’s gambling and criminal laws. — Jonathan Caulkins, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2026

His appellate legal team has been aggressively searching for any and every legal avenue that would overturn the judge’s sentence, nullify the jury’s guilty verdict, or even discredit the very criminal law that Combs was prosecuted under. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1672, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for criminal law

• avoirdupois
• aa
• aha
• bashaw
• bradshaw
• byelaw
• bylaw
• chainsaw
• cheraw
• coleslaw
• crenshaw
• dada

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.