From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishacquittalac‧quit‧tal /əˈkwɪtl/ noun [countable, uncountable] SCTan official statement in a court of law that someone is not guilty → conviction
Examples from the Corpus
acquittal• But it is virtually unthinkable that it could end in an acquittal, still less a mistrial.• It is by no means certain that the courts would always be willing to redefine the mens rea requirement in order to secure an acquittal.• So what message was Leckie hoping Fife would get from his acquittal?• Leckie told reporters he hoped his acquittal would give hope to other people in similar situations.• Leckie told reporters he hoped his acquittal would send a message of hope to the Governor.• Simpson has said so repeatedly since his acquittal in the case.• Of 52 prosecutions for police brutality, 46 ended in acquittals.• However, conflicting opinions of several doctors gained their acquittal.• With regard to acquittal rates in the magistrates' courts, our data are too uncertain to draw firm conclusions as they are incomplete. 