: a setting free from the charge of an offense by verdict, sentence, or other legal process

Examples of acquittal in a Sentence

The case resulted in acquittal of the defendant. Several jurors voted for acquittal. The case resulted in an acquittal of the defendant.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But if history is any guide — his testimony in his 2001 gun possession trial helped in his acquittal — Combs has the stomach. Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 28 Jan. 2025 Marine veteran Daniel Penny is celebrating his recent acquittal for manslaughter inside a historic college football game suite. Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 14 Dec. 2024 Penny was widely embraced by right-wing political figures after being charged with fatally choking Jordan Neely earlier this year, and many of them celebrated his acquittal on Monday. Kyle Feldscher, CNN, 14 Dec. 2024 But police hiring picked back up during the height of the war on drugs in the 1980s and again after another inflection point, the unrest that followed the acquittal of four LAPD officers in the 1991 beating of Black motorist Rodney King. Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 24 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for acquittal 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English acquitaille, acquytall "release, discharge, conduct," borrowed from Anglo-French acquitel, acquitaill, from aquiter "to acquit" + -el, -aill -al entry 2

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of acquittal was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near acquittal

Cite this Entry

“Acquittal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acquittal. Accessed 19 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

acquittal

noun
: the freeing (as by verdict) of a person from the charge of a crime

Legal Definition

acquittal

noun
1
: release or discharge from debt or other liability
2
: a setting free or deliverance from the charge of an offense by verdict of a jury, judgment of a court, or other legal process see also implied acquittal, judgment of acquittal at judgment sense 1a compare conviction

More from Merriam-Webster on acquittal

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