sidebar

noun

side·​bar ˈsīd-ˌbär 

1

a

: a short news story or graphic accompanying and presenting sidelights of a major story

b

: something incidental : sidelight

a sidebar to the essay's central theme

2

: a conference between the judge, the lawyers, and sometimes the parties to a case that the jury does not hear

Examples of sidebar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Specialty screenings include restored genre films courtesy of Fantastic Fest’s partnership with the American Genre Film Archive and a micro-budget animation block as part of Fantastic Fest’s Burnt Ends sidebar program. —Andrew McGowan, Variety, 14 Aug. 2025

The sidebar, which prides itself as a showcase of boundary-pushing international cinema, will feature 16 features and 24 shorts representing 28 countries around the world. —Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 7 Aug. 2025

Thursday’s plea hearing was brief after Atwal and a prosecutor had a sidebar conversation with Williams. —Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 31 July 2025

The full line-up can be found here and there’s plenty more to read about the Italian film fest, including news on sidebars, sales agents and trailers. —Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 25 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for sidebar

• abattoir
• alcazar
• autocar
• avatar
• belshazzar
• caviar
• caviare
• cinnabar
• commissar
• condylar
• deodar
• handlebar

Legal Definition

sidebar

noun

side·​bar ˈsīd-ˌbär 

: sidebar conference

had failed to request a sidebar before injecting the collateral offense into the trial

—Dockery v. State, 659 So. 2d 219 (1994)

also : the place near or before the bench where a sidebar conference takes place

the judge informed both attorneys…that they…could stand at sidebar while questions were posed

—Commonwealth v. Urena, 632 N.E.2d 1200 (1994)

compare bench, stand

sidebar adjective