Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the offense of being disobedient to or disrespectful towards a court of law and its officers in the form of behaviour that opposes or defies authority, justice, and dignity of the court. It manifests itself in wilful disregard of or disrespect for the authority of a court of law, which is often behaviour that is illegal because it does not obey or respect the rules of a law court.

As explained in the People's Law Dictionary by Gerald and Kathleen Hill, "there are essentially two types of contempt: (1) being rude, disrespectful to the judge or other attorneys or causing a disturbance in the courtroom, particularly after being warned by the judge; (2) wilful failure to obey an order of the court." Contempt proceedings are especially used to enforce equitable remedies, such as injunctions.

In court reporting, the journalist has a legal duty to report only what is heard in court, to avoid prejudicing the jury. Once a case has become ‘legally active’, journalists are highly restricted in what they can write and publish on a trial or criminal investigation. Extra precaution must be