plea 
/ˈpli:/ noun
plural pleas /ˈpli:/ noun [count] 1 : a serious and emotional request for something
▪ We are making a plea to all companies to stop polluting the environment. — often + for ▪ No one heard his pleas for help. ▪ the prisoner's passionate/desperate/fervent plea for mercy 2 law a : a statement in which a person who has been accused of a crime says in court that he or she is guilty or not guilty of the crime
▪ The defendant entered a plea of not guilty. ▪ a guilty plea
b : a statement in which a person says that he or she is guilty of a particular crime : a plea of guilty
▪ She and her lawyers accepted a lesser plea [=they said that she was guilty of a less serious crime] of manslaughter.
c : a reason or excuse for committing a crime
▪ He murdered his wife and got off on an insanity plea. [=the court said that he was not guilty because he was insane]
▪ We are making a plea to all companies to stop polluting the environment. — often + for ▪ No one heard his pleas for help. ▪ the prisoner's passionate/desperate/fervent plea for mercy
▪ The defendant entered a plea of not guilty. ▪ a guilty plea
b : a statement in which a person says that he or she is guilty of a particular crime : a plea of guilty
▪ She and her lawyers accepted a lesser plea [=they said that she was guilty of a less serious crime] of manslaughter.
c : a reason or excuse for committing a crime
▪ He murdered his wife and got off on an insanity plea. [=the court said that he was not guilty because he was insane]
cop a plea — see 2cop
