SCOTUS
abbreviation or noun
: the supreme court of the United States
—often used like a nickname
The U.S. Supreme Court must decide soon whether to review the Kasky v. Nike decision. … SCOTUS should review this case and overturn the California ruling.—
National Review
National Review
Examples of SCOTUS in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In all three of these earlier SCOTUS decisions, law enforcement won.
—WIRED, 14 Sep. 2023
He was sentenced to death, but SCOTUS ruled capital punishment was unconstitutional and all death sentences were changed to life without parole.
—Annabelle Timsit, Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2023
Rather than ask for a student's race, Sarah Lawrence College in New York is now asking applicants for the upcoming semester how they will be personally impacted by the SCOTUS ruling.
—Kristine Parks, Fox News, 1 Aug. 2023
Legacy college admissions under scrutiny following SCOTUS ruling Lawyers for Civil Rights further contended 28% of Harvard's 2019 graduating class were legacies.
—Ivan Pereira, ABC News, 25 July 2023
In Bruen, decided in 2022, SCOTUS ruled 6-3 that New York state’s policy requiring residents to have a special need to carry a firearm outside their homes was unconstitutional.
—Arpan Lobo, Detroit Free Press, 21 July 2023
Friends of the Court SCOTUS Justices’ Beneficial Relationships With Billionaire Donors
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.
—Paul Kiel, ProPublica, 17 July 2023
This term there were fewer cases decided on 6-3 ideological splits: Five compared with 14 last term, according to an analysis by the blog Empirical SCOTUS.
—John Fritze, USA TODAY, 13 July 2023
Statistically, there was no year-over-year difference: Roberts was in the majority 95% of the time in the most recent term, according to Empirical SCOTUS.
—John Fritze, USA TODAY, 10 July 2023
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WIRED, 14 Sep. 2023
He was sentenced to death, but SCOTUS ruled capital punishment was unconstitutional and all death sentences were changed to life without parole.
—Annabelle Timsit, Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2023
Rather than ask for a student's race, Sarah Lawrence College in New York is now asking applicants for the upcoming semester how they will be personally impacted by the SCOTUS ruling.
—Kristine Parks, Fox News, 1 Aug. 2023
Legacy college admissions under scrutiny following SCOTUS ruling Lawyers for Civil Rights further contended 28% of Harvard's 2019 graduating class were legacies.
—Ivan Pereira, ABC News, 25 July 2023
In Bruen, decided in 2022, SCOTUS ruled 6-3 that New York state’s policy requiring residents to have a special need to carry a firearm outside their homes was unconstitutional.
—Arpan Lobo, Detroit Free Press, 21 July 2023
Friends of the Court SCOTUS Justices’ Beneficial Relationships With Billionaire Donors
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.
—Paul Kiel, ProPublica, 17 July 2023
This term there were fewer cases decided on 6-3 ideological splits: Five compared with 14 last term, according to an analysis by the blog Empirical SCOTUS.
—John Fritze, USA TODAY, 13 July 2023
Statistically, there was no year-over-year difference: Roberts was in the majority 95% of the time in the most recent term, according to Empirical SCOTUS.
—John Fritze, USA TODAY, 10 July 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'SCOTUS.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1879, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near SCOTUS
Cite this Entry
“SCOTUS.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/SCOTUS. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.
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Legal Definition
SCOTUS
abbreviation
Supreme Court of the United States
Biographical Definition
Scotus
2 of 2biographical name (2)
John see erigena
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