Latin for choose not to contest or I will not defend, also known as a no contest pleading. When a defendant pleads nolo contendere after being charged with the crime, the defendant neither admits nor denies committing the crime although agrees to punishment (usually a fine or jail time which is more lenient) as they were guilty of committing a crime. This type of an admission of guilt is used because there is no guilty plea that can be used if a civil case is held after the criminal trial (and a guilty plea would be considered a confession with regard to the lawsuit by the plaintiff.)
Law Dictionary – Alternative Legal Definition
Latin: I will not contest it The name of a plea In a criminal action, having the same legal effect as a plea of guilty, so far as regards all proceedings on the indictment, and on which the defendant may be sentenced. Like a demurrer this plea admits, for the purposes of the case, all the facts which are well pleaded, but is not to be used as an admission elsewhere.