cop a plea

C c

Definitions of cop a plea words

noun cop a plea to plead guilty to a criminal charge, esp. so as to get a lighter sentence 3
verb with object cop a plea to catch; nab. 1
verb with object cop a plea to steal; filch. 1
verb with object cop a plea to buy (narcotics). 1
idioms cop a plea cop a plea, to plead guilty or confess in return for receiving a lighter sentence. to plead guilty to a lesser charge as a means of bargaining one's way out of standing trial for a more serious charge; plea-bargain. 1
verb cop a plea (Slang) (law) To plead guilty to a lesser criminal charge than one had been charged with. 0

before 1695

One of the 49% oldest English words

1695-1705; compare cap (obsolete) to arrest, Scots cap to seize ≪ dialectal Old French caper to take, ultimately < Latin capere

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adjective

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exclamation

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 88% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer