The Collaborative International Dictionary
Nolo contendere \No"lo con*ten"de*re\ [L., I do not wish to contend.] (Law) A plea, by the defendant, in a criminal prosecution, which, without admitting guilt, subjects him to all the consequences of a plea of guilty.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Latin, literally "I do not wish to contend." A plea that admits no guilt but subjects the defendant to judgment.
Wiktionary
n. (context legal English) no contest. The designation of a plea that means that the defendant does not admit the charge, but has no means to dispute it that the court will recognize.
WordNet
n. (law) an answer of `no contest' by a defendant who does not admit guilt but that subjects him to conviction [syn: non vult]
Wikipedia
is a legal term that comes from the Latin word for "I do not wish to contend." It is also referred to as a plea of no contest. In criminal trials in certain U.S. jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an alternative to a pleading of guilty or not guilty. A no-contest plea, while not technically a guilty plea, has the same immediate effect as a guilty plea, and is often offered as a part of a plea bargain. In many jurisdictions a plea of is not a right, and carries various restrictions on its use.
Usage examples of "nolo contendere".
He would eventually plead nolo contendere to charges of accepting bribes and evading income taxes.
He stared into it intently, sincerely, and wondered if, after all, it wouldn't be better just to say nolo contendere or even guilty and have an easier time of it.