Legal Dictionary

penalty

Definition of penalty

Noun

penalty (plural penalties)

  1. A legal sentence.

    The penalty for his crime was to do hard labor.

  2. A punishment for violating rules of procedure.
  3. (finance) A payment forfeited for an early withdrawal from an account or an investment.
  4. (soccer) A direct free-kick from the penalty spot, taken after a defensive foul in the penalty box.
  5. (ice hockey) A punishment for an infraction of the rules, often in the form of being removed from play for a specified amount of time.

    A penalty was called when he tripped up his opponent.

Derived terms

  • penalty arc
  • penalty box
  • penalty kick
  • penalty area
  • penalty phase
  • penalty shot
  • penalty shoot-out
  • penalty spot

See also

  • free kick
  • penal

Further reading

In law:

  • Penalty, a sentence (decree of punishment) issued by a court or judge
  • Penalty, sanctions imposed by a court or judge

References:

  1. Wiktionary. Published under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.



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