dereliction
1 ENTRIES FOUND:
Britannica Dictionary definition of DERELICTION
formal
1
[noncount]
a
:
the act of no longer caring for, using, or doing something
:
the act of abandoning something
-
the dereliction of a cause by its leaders
b
:
the condition of being no longer cared for
-
The building is in a state of dereliction. [=is in poor condition from being abandoned]
2
[singular]
law
:
failure to do your job or duty
:
failure to do what you should do
-
The officer was formally charged with dereliction of duty.
-
a serious dereliction of duty
◊ Dereliction is usually used to refer to the crime that is committed when a military officer or police officer fails to do an important part of his or her job.
