Words / C / Law

corpus delicti

noun/ˌkɔːrpəs dɪˈlɪktaɪ/

C2CEFR level
90/100Rarity: very rare
TechnicalRegister

The proof that a crime actually occurred, independent of who committed it.

Without a body or any corpus delicti, the confession alone cannot sustain a murder charge.

Topic: Criminal law in Legal English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

Get words like corpus delicti on your lock screen, a few a day, with review that makes them stick.

Download on the App Store Lexfall puts a new word on your home and lock screen through widgets, so you learn without opening an app. Free to download. After a free trial, a subscription unlocks every field. Built for iPhone, iOS 15.1 or later.
QR code that opens Lexfall on the App Store
On a computer?Scan with your iPhone camera.

More law words: Criminal law