Okuzeka
Criminal Law & Justice vocabulary · Elements of Crime & Liability

Attempt

Meaning in criminal law & justice, with examples

/əˈtempt/nounCommon term

In criminal law & justice, attempt means: The crime of trying to commit an offence and taking real steps towards it, even though the offence is not completed.

In Turkish: teşebbüs, kalkışma

How it is used

Usually seen as 'attempted' before the name of the offence: 'attempted murder', 'attempted robbery', 'attempted burglary'. Lawyers ask whether the defendant went beyond 'merely preparatory' acts. Attempts are often punished less severely than the completed offence.

Example sentences

  1. He was charged with attempted murder.

  2. Buying a mask was not enough to prove an attempt to rob the bank.

  3. The attempt failed because the alarm went off.

Common collocations

  • attempted murder
  • attempted robbery
  • attempt to commit
  • failed attempt
  • actus reusA Latin term meaning 'guilty act': the physical part of a crime, such as an action, a failure to act or a result that the law forbids.
  • intentThe mental decision to do something or to bring about a particular result; many serious crimes can only be committed with intent.
  • murderThe crime of unlawfully and deliberately killing another person; it is one of the most serious offences in every legal system.
  • offenceA formal word for an illegal act that the law punishes, from minor ones such as speeding to serious ones such as robbery.

More terms: Elements of Crime & Liability

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