capital punishment
noun
punishment by death for a crime; death penalty.
Origin of capital punishment
First recorded in 1575–85
Words nearby capital punishment
capital levy,
capital loss,
capital market,
capital offense,
capital outlay,
capital punishment,
capital resources,
capital ship,
capital stock,
capital structure,
capital sum
Example sentences from the Web for capital punishment
The capital-punishment man was the Marquis of Beccaria, and that of makes a great difference in Europe.
Stories of Invention |Edward E. Hale
British Dictionary definitions for capital punishment
capital punishment
noun
the punishment of death for a crime; death penalty
Cultural definitions for capital punishment (1 of 2)
capital punishment
The infliction of the death penalty as punishment for certain crimes. (See capital offense.)
notes for capital punishment
In the United States, capital punishment has been an extremely controversial issue on legal, moral, and ethical grounds. In 1972, the
Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was not, in principle,
cruel and unusual punishment (and not, therefore, unconstitutional), but that its implementation through existing state laws
was unconstitutional. In 1976, the Supreme Court again ruled that the death penalty was not unconstitutional, though a mandatory death penalty for any crime was. Thirty-nine states now practice the death penalty.
Cultural definitions for capital punishment (2 of 2)
capital punishment
The death penalty for a crime.