verb (used without object),plead·ed or pled[pled], /plɛd/, plead·ing.
to appeal or entreat earnestly: to plead for time.
to use arguments or persuasions, as with a person, for or against something: She pleaded with him not to take the job.
to afford an argument or appeal: His youth pleads for him.
Law.
to make any allegation or plea in an action at law.
to put forward an answer on the part of a defendant to a legal declaration or charge.
to address a court as an advocate.
Obsolete.to prosecute a suit or action at law.
verb (used with object),plead·ed or pled[pled], /plɛd/, plead·ing.
to allege or urge in defense, justification, or excuse: to plead ignorance.
Law.
to maintain (a cause) by argument before a court.
to allege or set forth (something) formally in an action at law.
to allege or cite in legal defense: to plead a statute of limitations.
Origin of plead
First recordd in 1200–50; Middle English plaiden, from<Old French plaid(i)er “to go to law, plead,” from early Medieval Latin placitāre “to litigate,” derivative of Latin placitum “opinion, agreed condition.” See plea
Su Bin eventually is extradited to the United States, pleads guilty to engaging in the hacking operations from 2008 to 2014, and is sentenced to 46 months in prison.
A brief history of US-China espionage entanglements|Konstantin Kakaes|September 3, 2020|MIT Technology Review
“We get on the local news station and plead with test providers to help us facilitate widespread testing,” Fischer said.
America Doesn’t Have a Coherent Strategy for Asymptomatic Testing. It Needs One.|by Caroline Chen|September 1, 2020|ProPublica
Doctors and nurses at Tijuana’s Hospital General pleaded for help in an open letter published on Facebook, saying they lack medication and equipment to treat patients, reports Cadena Noticias.
Border Report: One More Way the Pandemic Is Hurting Asylum-Seekers|Maya Srikrishnan|August 3, 2020|Voice of San Diego
She pleaded guilty and was sentenced last year to two days in county jail and three years’ probation.
Telemarketer Says Another GOP Campaign Was Behind Phil Graham Robocalls|Jesse Marx|July 10, 2020|Voice of San Diego
The father pleaded to be reunited with his partner and explained he did not want to be sent to Mexico without her, the complaint reads.
Border Patrol Sent a Newborn U.S. Citizen to Mexico|Maya Srikrishnan|July 10, 2020|Voice of San Diego
The camera passes to each hostage in turn to allow them to plead with the Lebanese government to let them live.
A Sunni-Shia Love Story Imperiled by al Qaeda|Ruth Michaelson|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He did not plead guilty, and has regularly filed petitions in an effort to prove his innocence.
Behind Bars for the Holidays: 11 Political Prisoners We Want to See Free In 2015|Movements.Org|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The news that Grimm was set to plead guilty sent shockwaves through the leadership of the Republican Party on Staten Island.
The Felon Who Wouldn’t Leave Congress|Ben Jacobs, David Freedlander|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On Friday, many of the minors came back to plead to the residents that this was their only home.
In Rome’s Riots, Cries for Mussolini and Attacks on Refugees|Barbie Latza Nadeau|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Christian conservative Sen. Larry Craig plead guilty for soliciting sex in the Minneapolis airport bathroom in 2007.
‘7th Heaven’ Dad Stephen Collins and the Christian Right’s Real Morality Tale|Amanda Marcotte|October 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now, to plead for the Wattevilles would mean nothing in Paris, but here!
Albert Savarus|Honore de Balzac
The second interview she had solicited in order to plead the cause of one of her personal friends, condemned to transportation.
Famous Women: George Sand|Bertha Thomas
He went to Washington to plead for the tribe, and returning, left his wigwam among the Indians after a time, and went to Texas.
Tenting on the Plains|Elizabeth B. Custer
It was like her, too, that she made no outcry; that she did not shed tears or plead with him.
Brand Blotters|William MacLeod Raine
If my views are erroneous, as exhibited in these lectures, I cannot plead that they have been hastily adopted.
The Religion of Geology and Its Connected Sciences|Edward Hitchcock
British Dictionary definitions for plead
plead
/ (pliːd) /
verbpleads, pleading, pleaded, plead (plɛd) orespUS and Scotpled (plɛd)
(when intr, often foll by with) to appeal earnestly or humbly (to)
(tr; may take a clause as object)to give as an excuse; offer in justification or extenuationto plead ignorance; he pleaded that he was insane
(intr often foll by for) to provide an argument or appeal (for)her beauty pleads for her
lawto declare oneself to be (guilty or not guilty) in answer to the charge
lawto advocate (a case) in a court of law
(intr)law
to file pleadings
to address a court as an advocate
Derived forms of plead
pleadable, adjectivepleader, noun
Word Origin for plead
C13: from Old French plaidier, from Medieval Latin placitāre to have a lawsuit, from Latin placēre to please; see plea