supreme court

noun

often capitalized S&C

1

: the highest judicial tribunal in a political unit (such as a nation or state)

2

: a court of original jurisdiction in New York state subordinate to a final court of appeals

Examples of supreme court in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This week in Arizona, the state supreme court granted permission to move forward with the implementation of a law from 1864 that bans nearly all abortions. —Maggie Doherty, The Atlantic, 12 Apr. 2024

Weeks later, Bolsonaro supporters stormed the country’s capital of Brasilia, flooding the congress, presidential palace, and supreme court in a Jan. 6–style uprising that quickly failed. —Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2024

Nisha is Indian-American, painfully shy and self-admittedly socially awkward, which doesn’t stop her from making friends, notably with her bubbly competition for a supreme court seat, Brooke. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2024

In 2021, the country’s supreme court abolished criminal penalties against women who receive abortions. —Carmen Valeria Escobar, WIRED, 3 Apr. 2024

The decision can be appealed only to the state supreme court. —Maritza Dominguez, The Arizona Republic, 3 Apr. 2024

The courts also reversed the verdicts of 42 criminal cases related to private property ownership, the supreme court's report said. —Elaine Kurtenbach, Quartz, 8 Mar. 2024

The recent ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that frozen embryos can be considered children, halting IVF treatments in the state, is a clear example of why races for state supreme courts will be among the most expensive and hotly contested this year. —Christine Fernando, The Denver Post, 1 Mar. 2024

The announcement marks the first major consequence of the state supreme court’s decision, which has left providers and patients unsure of how to navigate the process. —Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 22 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1686, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

supreme court

noun

: the highest court in a political unit (as the U.S. or one of its states)

Legal Definition

supreme court

noun

su·​preme court

1

: the highest court in a nation or state

specifically, capitalized S&C : the highest court in the judicial branch of the U.S. government that has original jurisdiction over controversies involving ambassadors or other ministers or consuls but whose main activity is as the court of last resort exercising appellate jurisdiction over cases involving federal law

2

capitalized S&C : a court of original jurisdiction in New York

Note: The court of last resort in New York is the Court of Appeals.