barrister

noun

bar·​ris·​ter ˈber-ə-stər 

ˈba-rə-

: a counsel admitted to plead at the bar and undertake the public trial of causes in an English superior court compare solicitor

Examples of barrister in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The bothies are gloriously off-grid and their placement was the idea of former barrister Lupi Moll, whose family has owned the 1,400-acre Inverlonan estate since Victorian times. —Carlton Reid, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025

Set during the dissolution of the monasteries, the show centered on hunchback barrister Matthew Shardlake (Arthur Hughes) as he's dispatched by Thomas Cromwell (Sean Bean) to investigate the suspicious death of a commissioner at a secluded monastery in Scarnsea. —EW.com, 16 Aug. 2025

And all stand for Felicity Gerry, King’s Counsel, the barrister who stands up for those who cannot stand, defending those facing human rights violations, by challenging and often single-handedly changing the law. —Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2025

Marten was represented by a total of 14 barristers across two trials – one that took place in 2024, and a retrial that ended on Monday, PA reported. —Catherine Nicholls, CNN Money, 19 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English barrester, from barre bar + -ster (as in legister lawyer)

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

barrister

noun

bar·​ris·​ter ˈbar-ə-stər 

1

: a lawyer who argues cases before a British court

especially : one who is allowed to argue before a British high court compare solicitor

Note: Many countries in the Commonwealth (as England and Australia) and the Republic of Ireland divide the legal profession into barristers and solicitors. In Canada, every lawyer is both a barrister and a solicitor, although individual lawyers may describe themselves as one or the other. Scotland uses the term advocate to refer to lawyers allowed to argue cases in its courts.

2

: lawyer

Etymology

Middle English barrester, from barre bar + -ster (as in legister lawyer)