To plead means to draft and serve a pleading or to file a pleading in court; to answer the opposing party’s plea; to make a plea. In civil lawsuits and petitions, the filing of any document (pleading) or the act of making an assertion or allegation in a legal proceeding. In criminal law, the entry of plea of a defendant in response to each charge of criminal conduct.
[Last updated in August of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]