Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

plea

American  
[plee] / pli /

noun

  1. an appeal or entreaty.

    a plea for mercy.
    Synonyms:
    suit, solicitation, supplication, petition, request

  2. something that is alleged, urged, or pleaded in defense or justification.

  3. an excuse; pretext.

    He begged off on the plea that his car wasn't working.
    Synonyms:
    justification

  4. Law.

    1. an allegation made by, or on behalf of, a party to a legal suit, in support of their claim or defense.

    2. a defendant's answer to a legal declaration or charge.

    3. (in courts of equity) a plea that admits the truth of the declaration, but alleges special or new matter in avoidance.

    4. Obsolete. a suit or action.

idioms

  1. cop a plea, cop.

plea British  
/ pliː /

noun

  1. an earnest entreaty or request

    a plea for help

    1. law something alleged or pleaded by or on behalf of a party to legal proceedings in support of his claim or defence

    2. criminal law the answer made by an accused to the charge

      a plea of guilty

    3. (in Scotland and formerly in England) a suit or action at law

  3. an excuse, justification, or pretext

    he gave the plea of a previous engagement
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
plea More Idioms  

  1. see cop a plea.

Usage

What does plea mean? A plea is an intense request or appeal.It’s especially used to imply that the request is passionate and that the person doing the pleading is desperate.It’s especially used in serious situations. A person might make a plea to their friend to get help with an addiction. A kid might make a plea to their parents begging not to be grounded.In law, a plea is generally a defendant’s response to an accusation, as in a plea of guilty or not guilty. A plea-bargain is an agreement between a defendant and a prosecutor in which the defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge. The slang phrase cop a plea refers to this and can be used in nonlegal contexts.To make a plea is to plead.Example: When I was a kid, I used to beg my mom not to make me go to the dentist, but she always ignored my pleas.

Etymology

Origin of plea

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English ple, earlier plaid from Old French, from early Medieval Latin placitum “law-court, suit, decision, decree,” Latin: “opinion” (literally, “that which is pleasing or agreeable”), placēre “to please”

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.