incriminate
verb
in·crim·i·nate
in-ˈkri-mə-ˌnāt 
incriminated; incriminating
: to charge with or show evidence or proof of involvement in a crime or fault
statements that incriminate them
Did you know?
Testimony may incriminate a suspect by placing him at the scene of a crime, and incriminating evidence is the kind that strongly links him to it. But the word doesn't always refer to an actual crime. We can say, for instance, that a virus has been incriminated as the cause of a type of cancer, or that video games have been incriminated in the decline in study skills among young people.
Examples of incriminate in a Sentence
Material found at the crime scene incriminates the defendant.
in exchange for a reduced sentence, the thief agreed to incriminate his accomplice
Recent Examples on the Web
Bundy was arrested for the first time in connection with the disappearances August 1975, when police pulled him over and found incriminating items including rope, handcuffs and a ski mask, in his vehicle.
—
ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
Police pulled him over and found incriminating items in his vehicle including rope, handcuffs and a ski mask.
—Hannah Schoenbaum, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026
Bundy was arrested for the first time in August 1975, when police pulled him over and found incriminating items in his vehicle, including rope, handcuffs and a ski mask.
—CBS News, 1 Apr. 2026
The girlfriend testified at the trial after being granted immunity and the friend invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself by taking the stand.
—Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 31 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for incriminate
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ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
Police pulled him over and found incriminating items in his vehicle including rope, handcuffs and a ski mask.
—Hannah Schoenbaum, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026
Bundy was arrested for the first time in August 1975, when police pulled him over and found incriminating items in his vehicle, including rope, handcuffs and a ski mask.
—CBS News, 1 Apr. 2026
The girlfriend testified at the trial after being granted immunity and the friend invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself by taking the stand.
—Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 31 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for incriminate
Cite this Entry
“Incriminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incriminate. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
incriminate
verb
in·crim·i·nate
in-ˈkrim-ə-ˌnāt
incriminated; incriminating
1
: to charge with or show evidence or proof of involvement in a crime or fault : accuse
2
: to cause to appear guilty of or responsible for something
evidence that tends to incriminate the defendant
Legal Definition
incriminate
transitive verb
in·crim·i·nate
in-ˈkri-mə-ˌnāt
incriminated; incriminating
1
: to charge with involvement in a crime
he was incriminated in the conspiracy
2
: to suggest or show involvement of in a crime
among the evidence that incriminated him was a box of trigger devices
see also self-incrimination
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