What does codefendant mean?
A codefendant is a person who is jointly charged or named as a defendant with one or more others in the same legal proceeding. The word belongs chiefly to the vocabulary of law: it appears in court records, news coverage of trials, and discussions of criminal or civil cases where multiple parties face allegations together. Being someone's codefendant does not necessarily imply equal culpability — courts may treat codefendants differently depending on the evidence against each — but the term signals that their cases are being heard together, often because the alleged conduct is connected. Codefendants typically share procedural aspects of a trial, such as joint arraignment or a common courtroom, though each may retain separate counsel. The word carries no strong connotation beyond its legal sense, though its appearance usually suggests a serious or multi-party case. It is written either solid (codefendant) or hyphenated (co-defendant), with both forms accepted in modern usage.
nounA person who is charged or named as a defendant alongside another in the same legal action.
- One who is jointly charged with another as a defendant in the same lawsuit or criminal trial.
"The judge ruled that she and her business partner would stand trial as codefendants."
"The prosecutor argued that the two men, tried as codefendants, had conspired together for months."
"Because they shared a single attorney, the codefendants were advised to avoid discussing strategy in each other's presence."
Regular plural; the hyphenated variant co-defendants is equally acceptable.
"The three codefendants were arraigned together on Monday morning."
In court, your codefendant is the person sharing your bench — and, if things go badly, your sentence history.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of codefendant
Codefendant combines the prefix co-, from Latin cum meaning 'with' or 'together', with defendant, from the Latin defendere, 'to ward off or protect'. The compound arose within English legal terminology, likely in the 19th century, as a natural extension of defendant to describe parties joined in a single action. It shares its Latin root with related words such as defense, defend, and offender.
How codefendant is actually used
Primarily legal and formal register, appearing almost exclusively in court reports, contracts, and legal journalism; it is rare in everyday speech. The hyphenated spelling co-defendant is also widely accepted, particularly in British usage.
Easily confused with codefendant
Co-defendant is simply the hyphenated variant spelling of codefendant; both mean the same thing, though codefendant is increasingly standard.