collocation · neutral
drop the charges
UK/drɒp ðə ˈtʃɑːdʒɪz/US/drɒp ðə ˈtʃɑrdʒɪz/DROP THE CHARGES
to stop prosecuting someone by withdrawing criminal charges
Examples
“After new evidence came up, the police dropped the charges.”
“Victims can sometimes ask the prosecution to drop the charges.”
“The state decided to drop the charges due to lack of proof.”
Band 8 sentence
“Following a review of the forensic material, the prosecution chose to drop the charges against the suspect.”
Collocations
- dismiss the charges
Word family
Common mistakes
cancel the charges→drop the charges
the judge dropped the charges→the police/prosecution dropped the charges
Say it for a higher band
5cancel the charges→6withdraw the charges→7+drop the charges
Synonyms
withdraw the charges
Easily confused
dismiss the charges
“The judge dismissed the charges for lack of sufficient evidence.”
Related words
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In Crime & Law
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