Abuse Definition: Physical or nonphysical misuse or maltreatment or use or treatment so as to injure, hurt, or damage. Related Terms: Sexual Abuse In Estrada-Epinoza, in quoting from several past cases, Justice Thomas reiterated the definition of abuse as: "... physical or nonphysical misuse or maltreatment or use or treatment so as to injure, hurt, or damage." REFERENCES Estrada-Espinoza v. Mukasey, 546 F. 3d 1147 (United States Court of Appeals, 2008) Categories & Topics: Criminal Law Dictionary Tort and Personal Injury Law Dictionary Find you are constantly looking up definitions? Try our search provider (works in most modern browsers) If you find an error or omission in Duhaime's Legal Dictionary, or if you have legal term suggestion, we'd love to hear from you!