Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A form of defense whereby a defendant attempts to prove that he or she was elsewhere when the crime in question was committed.
- noun The fact of having been elsewhere when a crime in question was committed.
- noun An explanation offered to avoid blame or justify action; an excuse.
- intransitive verb To make an excuse for oneself.
- intransitive verb To make an excuse for (another).
from The Century Dictionary.
- In law, elsewhere; at another place.
- noun In law, a plea of having been elsewhere at the time an offense is alleged to have been committed.
- noun The fact or state of having been elsewhere at the time specified: as, he attempted to prove an alibi.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Law) The plea or mode of defense under which a person on trial for a crime proves or attempts to prove that he was in another place when the alleged act was committed
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun law The plea or mode of defense under which a person on trial for a crime proves or attempts to prove that he was in another place when the alleged act was committed; as, to set up an alibi; to prove an alibi
- verb to provide an
alibi for - verb to provide an
excuse for
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb exonerate by means of an alibi
- noun (law) a defense by an accused person purporting to show that he or she could not have committed the crime in question
- noun a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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And you know, when we ` re talking about his story, that ` s one of the things that ` s really captured, I think, the attention of people around here is it ` s so absurd that somebody ` s-- if you want to use the term alibi, would be that they left their pregnant wife by the side of the road.
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Maddening though this habit of searching for displaced selves might be in a traveling companion—the word "alibi" literally means "elsewhere"—it is a pleasure in an essayist.
Booking a Journey Elizabeth Lowry 2011
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What this is, is just what I call the alibi tour and to go out there and to plant reasonable doubt before the trial.
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It would appear that an alibi is already being prepared for him.
Archive 2009-03-01 2009
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I am not sure what the alibi is for either of them.
24 Hour Plays: In Which I am a Wimp - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com 2007
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In 1992, however, Larry Casey had replaced the Jockey Club dinner with "the phone call alibi," which he had not mentioned in the Frontline interview.
A Special Report -- The Crazy October Surprise Debunking 2009
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In 1992, however, Larry Casey had replaced the Jockey Club dinner with “the phone call alibi,” which he had not mentioned in the Frontline interview.
Printing: A Special Report -- The Crazy October Surprise Debunking 2009
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I am not sure what the alibi is for either of them.
24 Hour Plays: In Which I am a Wimp - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com 2007
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The man's alibi is that he had actually attacked a goat with an axe and then it magically shape-shifted into his sibling's dead body.
Boing Boing: September 17, 2006 - September 23, 2006 Archives 2006
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"He never mentioned the word alibi," said Hennessey.
A Hole In Space Niven, Larry, 1938- 1992
minouchette commented on the word alibi
a box of flowers
October 8, 2010