alibi

noun [C]

/ˈæl.ɪ.baɪ/

Definition

› proof that someone who is thought to have committed a crime could not have done it, especially the fact or statement that they were in another place at the time it happened: He has a cast-iron (= very strong) alibi - he was in hospital the week of the murder.Court cases, orders and decisions › an excuse for something bad or for a failure: After eight years in power, the government can no longer use the previous government's policy as an alibi for its own failure.Reasons and explanations

(Definition of alibi noun from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

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