Plead

v. t.	1.	To argue in support of a claim, or in defense against the claim of another; to urge reasons for or against a thing; to attempt to persuade one by argument or supplication; to speak by way of persuasion; as, to plead for the life of a criminal; to plead with a judge or with a father. [imp. & p. p. Pleaded (colloq. Plead or Pled); p. pr. & vb. n. Pleading.] O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbor! - Job xvi. 21.
	2.	(Law) To present an answer, by allegation of fact, to the declaration of a plaintiff; to deny the plaintiff's declaration and demand, or to allege facts which show that ought not to recover in the suit; in a less strict sense, to make an allegation of fact in a cause; to carry on the allegations of the respective parties in a cause; to carry on a suit or plea.
	3.	To contend; to struggle.
	1.	To discuss, defend, and attempt to maintain by arguments or reasons presented to a tribunal or person having uthority to determine; to argue at the bar; as, to plead a cause before a court or jury. Every man should plead his own matter. - Sir T. More.
	2.	To allege or cite in a legal plea or defense, or for repelling a demand in law; to answer to an indictment; as, to plead usury; to plead statute of limitations; to plead not guilty.
	3.	To allege or adduce in proof, support, or vendication; to offer in excuse; as, the law of nations may be pleaded in favor of the rights of ambassadors. I will neither plead my age nor sickness, in excuse of faults. - Dryden.

Verb	1.	plead - appeal or request earnestly; "I pleaded with him to stop"
	2.	plead - offer as an excuse or plea; "She was pleading insanity"
	3.	plead - enter a plea, as in courts of law; "She pleaded not guilty"
	4.	plead - make an allegation in an action or other legal proceeding, especially answer the previous pleading of the other party by denying facts therein stated or by alleging new facts

TO PLEAD. The formal entry of the defendant's defence on the record. In a popular sense, it signifies the argument in a cause, but it is not so used by the profession. Steph. Pl. Appx. note I; Story, Eq. Pl. Sec. 5, note.

adduce, adjure, advance, advocate, affirm, allege, appeal to, apply to, argufy, array, ask for, assert, aver, avow, bandy words, bicker, blandish, brace, bring forward, bring on, bring to bear, cajole, call for help, call on, call upon, cavil, choplogic, clamor for, coax, conduct pleadings, conjure, contend, contest, crave, cross swords, cry for, cry on, cry to, cut and thrust, declare, demand, deploy, discept, dispute, entreat, exhort, give and take, hassle, have it out, high-pressure, impetrate, implead, importune, imprecate, insist, insist upon, invoke, jawbone, join issue, kneel to, lobby, lock horns, logomachize, maintain, make a plea, marshal, moot, nag, obtest, offer, petition, pettifog, plead for, plead with, polemicize, polemize, pray, present, press, pressure, produce, push, put forward, quibble, rally, recommend, request, rest, run to, say, seek, soft-soap, solicit, spar, swear, sweet-talk, take sides, thrash out, try conclusions, urge, wheedle, work on, wrangle

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