{
    "term": "prosecute",
    "partOfSpeech": "verb",
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "c1",
    "verbForms": {
        "presentSimple": {
            "iYouWeThey": "prosecute",
            "heSheIt": "prosecutes"
        },
        "pastSimple": "prosecuted",
        "pastParticiple": "prosecuted",
        "ingForm": "prosecuting"
    },
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "to officially charge somebody with a crime in court",
            "sensetop": "prosecute somebody/somethingprosecute somebody/something for (doing) something",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The police decided not to prosecute."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Trespassers will be prosecuted *(= a notice telling people to keep out of a particular area)*.",
                    "contextForm": "prosecute somebody/something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act.",
                    "contextForm": "prosecute somebody/something for (doing) something"
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Law and justice"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "to be a lawyer in a court case for a person or an organization that is charging somebody with a crime",
            "sensetop": "prosecute (somebody)",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "the **prosecuting counsel/lawyer/attorney**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "James Spencer, prosecuting, claimed that the witness was lying."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "to continue taking part in or doing something",
            "sensetop": "prosecute something",
            "labels": "(formal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "They had overwhelming public support to prosecute the war."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈprɒsɪkjuːt/",
                "audio": "pr/prosecute/prosecute__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈprɒsɪkjuːts/",
                "audio": "pr/prosecute/prosecutes__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈprɒsɪkjuːtɪd/",
                "audio": "pr/prosecute/prosecuted__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈprɒsɪkjuːtɪŋ/",
                "audio": "pr/prosecute/prosecuting__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈprɑːsɪkjuːt/",
                "audio": "pr/prosecute/prosecute__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈprɑːsɪkjuːts/",
                "audio": "pr/prosecute/prosecutes__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈprɑːsɪkjuːtɪd/",
                "audio": "pr/prosecute/prosecuted__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈprɑːsɪkjuːtɪŋ/",
                "audio": "pr/prosecute/prosecuting__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "late Middle English (in sense (3)): from Latin prosecut- ‘pursued, accompanied’, from the verb prosequi, from pro- ‘onward’ + sequi ‘follow’."
}