- [uncountable] money that somebody agrees to pay if a person accused of a crime does not appear at their trial. When bail has been arranged, the accused person is allowed to go free until the trial.
- Can anyone put up bail for you?
- She was released on £2 000 bail.
- Bail was set at $1 million.
- The judge granted/refused bail.
- on bail He committed another offence while he was out on bail (= after bail had been agreed).
Collocations Criminal justiceCriminal justiceBreaking the law- break/violate/obey/uphold the law
- be investigated/arrested/tried for a crime/a robbery/fraud
- be arrested/ (especially North American English) indicted/convicted on charges of rape/fraud/(especially US English) felony charges
- be arrested on suspicion of arson/robbery/shoplifting
- be accused of/be charged with murder/(especially North American English) homicide/four counts of fraud
- face two charges of indecent assault
- admit your guilt/liability/responsibility (for something)
- deny the allegations/claims/charges
- confess to a crime
- grant/be refused/be released on/skip/jump bail
- stand/await/bring somebody to/come to/be on trial
- take somebody to/come to/settle something out of court
- face/avoid/escape prosecution
- seek/retain/have the right to/be denied access to legal counsel
- hold/conduct/attend/adjourn a hearing/trial
- sit on/influence/persuade/convince the jury
- sit/stand/appear/be put/place somebody in the dock
- plead guilty/not guilty to a crime
- be called to/enter (British English) the witness box
- take/put somebody on the stand/(North American English) the witness stand
- call/subpoena/question/cross-examine a witness
- give/hear the evidence against/on behalf of somebody
- raise/withdraw/overrule an objection
- reach a unanimous/majority verdict
- return/deliver/record a verdict of not guilty/unlawful killing/accidental death
- convict/acquit the defendant of the crime
- secure a conviction/your acquittal
- lodge/file an appeal
- appeal (against)/challenge/uphold/overturn a conviction/verdict
- pass sentence on somebody
- carry/face/serve a seven-year/life sentence
- receive/be given the death penalty
- be sentenced to ten years (in prison/jail)
- carry/impose/pay a fine (of $3 000)/a penalty (of 14 years' imprisonment)
- be imprisoned/jailed for drug possession/fraud/murder
- do/serve time/ten years
- be sent to/put somebody in/be released from jail/prison
- be/put somebody/spend X years on death row
- be granted/be denied/break (your) parole
Extra ExamplesTopics Law and justicec1, Moneyc1- For very serious crimes, it is hard to get bail.
- She couldn't get bail and now she's lost those 20 months she spent on remand.
- She has been granted conditional bail.
- Rosenthal is currently free on bail.
- The accused were held without bail.
- The judge set bail at £50 000.
- The police were successful in opposing bail.
- They were released on police bail pending further enquiries.
- He was sent to a bail hostel until the case came to court.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- conditional
- unconditional
- police
- …
- apply for
- allow somebody
- give somebody
- …
- application
- hearing
- bond
- …
- on bail
- without bail
- an application for bail
- [countable, usually plural] (in cricket) either of the two small pieces of wood on top of each set of three wooden posts (called stumps)Topics Sports: ball and racket sportsc2
Word Originnoun sense 1 Middle English: from Old French, literally ‘custody, jurisdiction’, from bailler ‘take charge of’, from Latin bajulare ‘bear a burden’. noun sense 2 Middle English (denoting the outer wall of a castle): from Old French baile ‘palisade, enclosure’, baillier ‘enclose’, perhaps from Latin baculum ‘rod, stick’.
Idioms
See bail in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryjump/skip bail
- to fail to appear at your trial after you have paid money to be allowed to go free until the trial
- He skipped bail and went on the run for two weeks.
Check pronunciation:
bail