Phrase guide

burden of proof

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The duty of a party in a legal proceeding to prove an assertion of fact; it includes both the burden of production and the burden of persuasion; the onus probandi.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: law

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The obligation of the person making a claim in a dispute to provide sufficient evidence for their position.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: epistemology, human-sciences, philosophy, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the duty of proving a disputed charge

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: duty, responsibility, obligation

History

Etymology

Calque of Latin onus probandi.

Across languages

Translations

56 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: عِبْء الإثْبات (ʕibʔ al-ʔiṯbāt) — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Arabic: عِبْء البَيِّنة (ʕibʔ al-bayyina) — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Chinese Mandarin: 舉證責任 /举证责任 (jǔzhèng zérèn) — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Chinese Mandarin: 證明責任 /证明责任 (zhèngmíng zérèn) — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Czech: důkazní břemeno — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Danish: bevisbyrde — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Dutch: bewijslast — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Dutch: last — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Finnish: todistustaakka — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • French: charge de la preuve — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • German: Beweislast — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • German: Beweispflicht — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Gujarati: સાબિતીનો બોજો (sābitīno bojo) — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Gujarati: પુરાવાનો બોજો (purāvāno bojo) — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Icelandic: sönnunarbyrði — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Indonesian: beban bukti — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Indonesian: beban pembuktian — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Interlingua: onere del prova — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Italian: onere della prova — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Japanese: 証明責任 (shōmei sekinin) — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Japanese: 立証責任 (risshō sekinin) — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Korean: 입증 책임 (ipjeung chaegim) — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Latin: onus probandi — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Macedonian: товар на докажувањето (tovar na dokažuvanjeto) — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Norwegian Bokmål: bevisbyrde — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: bevisbyrde — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Polish: ciężar dowodu — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Portuguese: ônus da prova — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Russian: бре́мя доказа́тельства (brémja dokazátelʹstva) — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Serbo-Croatian: тѐрет докази́ва̄ња — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Serbo-Croatian: tèret dokazívānja — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Spanish: carga de la prueba — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Swedish: bevisbörda — duty of a party in a legal proceeding
  • Arabic: التزام بتقديم الدليل (iltizām bi-taqdīm al-dalīl) — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Arabic: التزامات بتقديم الدليل (iltizāmāt bi-taqdīm al-dalīl) — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Arabic: التزام بتقديم الدليل (iltizām bi-taqdīm al-dalīl) — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Arabic: التزامات بتقديم الدليل (iltizāmāt bi-taqdīm al-dalīl) — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Arabic: التزامات بتقديم الدليل (iltizāmāt bi-taqdīm al-dalīl) — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Chinese Mandarin: 舉證責任 /举证责任 (jǔzhèng zérèn) — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Chinese Mandarin: 證明責任 /证明责任 (zhèngmíng zérèn) — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Danish: bevisbyrde — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Finnish: todistustaakka — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • French: charge de la preuve — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Italian: obbligo di fornire prove — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Italian: obblighi di fornire prove — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Italian: obbligo di fornire prove — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Italian: obblighi di fornire prove — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Italian: obblighi di fornire prove — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Japanese: 証拠を提示する義務 (shōko o teiji suru gimu) — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Korean: 증거를 제시할 의무 (jeunggeoreul jesihal uimu) — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Norwegian Bokmål: bevisbyrde — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: bevisbyrde — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Polish: ciężar dowodu — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Portuguese: ônus da prova — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Spanish: carga de la prueba — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position
  • Swedish: bevisbörda — obligation of the person making a claim to provide evidence for their position