battery

In one sentence

Intentional physical contact with another person without consent.

Plain English

Battery is a crime where you intentionally touch, hit, or otherwise make physical contact with someone else without their permission. It doesn't require injury—even a shove or a punch that causes no harm can be battery. The key is that you acted on purpose and knew the contact would happen or was substantially certain it would.

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Example

A person punches a stranger in a bar during an argument. Even if the punch causes only minor bruising, it's battery because the contact was intentional and unwanted. If the person had asked permission first and the stranger agreed, there would be no crime.

Used in a sentence

“The defendant was charged with battery for shoving the security guard during the arrest.”

Related terms

domestic violence

Criminal conduct involving abuse between intimate partners, family members, or household members.

Assault

An intentional act that causes someone to fear imminent physical harm.

hate crime

A crime motivated by prejudice against a person's race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, or other protected characteristic.

Duress

Forcing someone to sign a contract through threats or coercion.

Stand Your Ground

A law allowing a person to use force, including deadly force, to defend themselves without a duty to retreat.

Castle Doctrine

A law stating that a person's home is their castle and they can use force to defend it without duty to retreat.

Expungement

A legal process that erases or seals a criminal conviction from your record.

Felony

A serious crime punishable by more than one year in prison or death.

This page is a plain-English reference and is not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change over time. For specific situations consult a licensed attorney.