disorderly conduct

noun

: a petty offense chiefly against public order and decency that falls short of an indictable misdemeanor

Examples of disorderly conduct in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Torres, who already has a pending assault on an elderly or disabled person out of Chelsea District Court, was charged with disorderly conduct, possession of a class A substance and trafficking fentanyl. —Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 21 Feb. 2025

He’s charged with sixth-degree larceny, disorderly conduct, third-degree assault and second-degree reckless endangerment, authorities said. —Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 17 Feb. 2025

He was instructed to lower his voice or he would be arrested for disorderly conduct. —Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 28 Jan. 2025

The man was arrested on assault, reckless endangerment, menacing, harassment, disorderly conduct and a weapons charge after the attack, which left a 42-year-old man with an injured wrist and a 26-year-old woman with a neck injury, police said. —Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 16 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1786, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for disorderly conduct

• abduct
• construct
• deduct
• destruct
• induct
• instruct
• obstruct
• aqueduct
• deconstruct
• reconstruct
• bucked
• chucked

Legal Definition

disorderly conduct

noun

dis·​or·​der·​ly conduct

: conduct that is likely to lead to a disturbance of the public peace or that offends public decency

also : the petty offense of engaging in disorderly conduct compare breach of the peace

Note: The term disorderly conduct is used in statutes to identify various acts against the public peace. It has been held to include the use of obscene language in public, the blocking of public ways, and the making of threats. A statute must identify acts that constitute disorderly conduct with sufficient clarity in order to avoid being held unconstitutional because of vagueness.