Definition

1. Noun:

   • A claim or piece of evidence that one was elsewhere when an act, typically a criminal one, is alleged to have taken place: In law, an "alibi" is a defense that attempts to prove the accused was not at the scene of the crime when it occurred.
   • An excuse or explanation intended to avoid blame or justify a failure: More generally, an "alibi" can refer to any excuse given for not fulfilling an obligation or for some fault.

2. Verb:

   • To provide an alibi for someone; to exonerate by offering proof or an excuse of absence: To "alibi" means to furnish or serve as an alibi for a person.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • The suspect's solid alibi was that he was at a business conference in another city.
  • He always has a convenient alibi for not doing his homework.

• Verb:

  • His friend agreed to alibi for him, claiming they were together all evening.
  • The security footage alibied the employee, showing he was not in the building.

Advanced Usage

• "To have an airtight/ironclad alibi": To have a very strong, unbreakable alibi.
  • The defendant's airtight alibi made a conviction impossible.
• "To establish/prove an alibi": To provide evidence to support one's claim of being elsewhere.
  • Her phone records helped her establish an alibi for the time of the robbery.

Variants and Related Words

• Alibied (verb, past tense): Provided with an alibi.
  • He was alibied by multiple witnesses.
• Alibiing (verb, present participle/gerund): The act of providing an alibi.
  • Alibiing for a friend can have serious legal consequences.

Synonyms

• Noun (Excuse): Excuse, justification, pretext, defense, reason.
• Noun (Legal Defense): Defense of absence.
• Verb: Exonerate, clear, vindicate, excuse.

Related Phrases

• "Without alibi": Having no excuse or defense.
  • He was late without alibi and faced the consequences.
• "Alibi witness": A witness who testifies to support an alibi.
  • The defense called several alibi witnesses to the stand.

Idioms

• "The alibi doesn't hold water": The excuse or defense is not believable or is flawed.
  • His story about a flat tire was his alibi, but it didn't hold water with the police.

Noun

1. a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.
   • he kept finding excuses to stay
   • every day he had a new alibi for not getting a job
   • his transparent self-justification was unacceptable
2. (law) a defense by an accused person purporting to show that he or she could not have committed the crime in question

Verb

1. exonerate by means of an alibi