habeas corpus
UK/ˌheɪbiəs ˈkɔːpəs/US/ˌheɪbiəs ˈkɔːrpəs/
habeas corpus noun: a writ ordering that a person be brought before a court or a judge, most frequently used to ensure that a person's imprisonment, detention, or commitment is legal.
Noun
habeas corpus (plural habeas corpora or habeas corpuses)
- A writ ordering that a person be brought before a court or a judge, most frequently used to ensure that a person's imprisonment, detention, or commitment is legal.
- While Trump has not explicitly mentioned habeas corpus in public, it’s what he was referencing last month when he commented on steps he could take to combat nationwide injunctions against his actions on deportations, according to one of the people familiar with the talks.2025 May 9, Kaitlan Collins, Samantha Waldenberg and Tierney Sneed, “Trump involved in discussions over suspending habeas corpus, sources say”, in CNN
- Synonyms:
- writ of habeas corpus
Verb
habeas corpus (third-person singular simple present habeas corpuses, present participle habeas corpusing, simple past and past participle habeas corpused)
- To apply the legal principle of habeas corpus to an individual or situation.
- Hawley […] particularly desired, judging by his actions, to put polygamists out of existence, at the same time very mercifully habeas corpused all the prostitutes and their supporters[.]1873 August 12, “The Fate of Judges and All Others Who Work Against Zion”, in The Latter-Day Saints' Millennial Star
- He saw that according to the fable typed on its lily white face one, John Grimaldi of Brooklyn, was summoned, advised, entreated, requested, ordered, corpus delictied, habeas corpused and generally invited to appear in said court[.]1918, Frazier Hunt, “Pegging Away”, in Blown by the Draft
habeas corpus meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam
habeas corpus in Hindi
- habeas corpus
- बंदी प्रत्यक्षीकरण bandī pratyakṣīkaraṇ
habeas corpus in Tamil
- writ of habeas corpus
- ஆட்கொணர்வு மனு āṭkoṇarvu maṉu
habeas corpus in Telugu
- writ of habeas corpus
- హెబియస్ కార్పస్ hebiyas kārpas
habeas corpus in Malayalam
- writ of habeas corpus
- ഹേബിയസ് കോർപ്പസ് hēbiyasŭ kōṟppasŭ
More languagesFewer languages
- habeas corpus in Kannada
- ಹೇಬಿಯಸ್ ಕಾರ್ಪಸ್ hēbiyas kārpas
- habeas corpus in Persian
- قرار احضار زندانی qarâr ehzâr zendâni
- habeas corpus in Vietnamese
- trát bảo thân
Synonyms of habeas corpus
Forms of habeas corpus
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | habeas corpora |
| plural | habeas corpuses |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | habeas corpuses |
| present participle | habeas corpusing |
| past participle | habeas corpused |
| past | habeas corpused |
Origin of habeas corpus
From Latin habeas corpus ad subiciendum (“You (shall) have the body to be subjected to (examination)”), referring to the body of the detainee (not the body of a victim, similar to corpus delicti).
Words formed from habeas corpus
- habeas corpus ad subjiciendum
Questions about habeas corpus
- What does habeas corpus mean?
- Habeas corpus means a writ ordering that a person be brought before a court or a judge, most frequently used to ensure that a person's imprisonment, detention, or commitment is legal.
- What is habeas corpus in Hindi?
- Habeas corpus in Hindi is बंदी प्रत्यक्षीकरण (bandī pratyakṣīkaraṇ). See Habeas corpus meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is habeas corpus?
- Habeas corpus can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce habeas corpus?
- Habeas corpus is pronounced /ˌheɪbiəs ˈkɔːpəs/ (UK).
- What is the plural of habeas corpus?
- The plural of habeas corpus is habeas corpora.
Words near habeas corpus in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: habeas corpus (page history and authors); बंदी प्रत्यक्षीकरण (Hindi) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-ca-habeas corpus.ogg.
Cite this entry: “habeas corpus.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/habeas_corpus. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.