noun
- Chiefly Law. the obligation to offer evidence that the court or jury could reasonably believe, in support of a contention, failing which the case will be lost.
- the obligation to establish a contention as fact by evoking evidence of its probable truth.
noun
- law the obligation, in criminal cases resting initially on the prosecution, to provide evidence that will convince the court or jury of the truth of one’s contention
Obligation of proving a disputed charge or allegation. For example, Are you sure you mailed the tax return on time? The burden of proof’s on you. A legal term dating from the late 1500s, it has also been used more loosely in recent times.