# Miranda

/mɝˈændə/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/miranda
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. a person's name

noun · CEFR A1

a common first name for a woman.

For teachers: a female given name, originally coined by Shakespeare for the protagonist of 'The Tempest'.

- Miranda is starting her new job at the hospital next Monday.
- The name Miranda has seen fluctuating popularity since the mid-twentieth century, often associated with its literary origins.

### 2. legal rights

noun · CEFR B2 · American English

the warning police in the US must give to people they arrest, telling them they have the right to stay silent.

For teachers: the legal rights of a person being arrested, specifically the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney.

- The officer read the suspect his Miranda rights before asking any questions.
- Failure to properly administer the Miranda warning can lead to the exclusion of a suspect's statements from evidence during trial.

### 3. a moon of Uranus

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

one of the small moons that travels around the planet Uranus.

For teachers: the smallest and innermost of the five major moons of Uranus, known for its extreme and varied topography.

- Astronomers studied the strange cliffs and canyons on Miranda using satellite images.
- Miranda exhibits some of the most rugged terrain in the solar system, including the massive Verona Rupes fault scarp.

### 5. relating to legal rights

adjective · CEFR C1 · American English · Technical

describing things related to the legal rights of an arrested person.

For teachers: relating to the legal doctrine or requirements established by the Miranda v. Arizona ruling.

- The lawyer raised a Miranda objection during the hearing.
- The court examined whether there was a Miranda violation during the initial interrogation process.

## Examples

- The officer read the suspect his Miranda rights.
- If a police officer fails to give a Miranda warning during an arrest, the suspect's statements may be excluded from court.
- Legal scholars often debate whether the Miranda ruling truly protects vulnerable suspects or merely provides a procedural hurdle that seasoned criminals have learned to navigate with ease.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.