amicus

noun

ami·​cus ə-ˈmē-kəs  -ˈmī- 

plural amici ə-ˈmē-ˌkē 

-ˈmī-ˌsī

: someone (such as a professional person) or something (such as an organization) that is not a party to a particular case but that is allowed by the court upon petition or by the court's request to advise it in respect to some matter of law that directly affects the case in question : amicus curiae

I'd like to urge you to begin thinking about filing a brief as amicus in this case.

—Jonathan Mahler

… Mr. Benkard recently had joined in an … amicus brief seeking overturn of a U.S. Claims Court judgement …

—The National Law Journal

Two dozen prominent law professors and economists called attention to this problem in an amicus brief submitted to the FTC's administrative tribunal.

—Rachel Chiu

Examples of amicus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Getting over this final hurdle comes after months of delays, including the major antitrust lawsuit from a coalition of 12 states, and even a Hail Mary last ditch amicus brief from a grassroots coalition that sought to block the merger entirely. — Brian Welk, IndieWire, 30 Sep. 2026

The groups behind the #BlockTheMerger coalition, for one, filed an amicus brief with the court urging Martínez-Olguín to reject the settlement. — Todd Spangler, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026

Dozens of other media organizations, including the Times and Condé Nast, which owns The New Yorker, filed an amicus brief in the case. — Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2026

The Block the Merger coalition and other opponents of the deal have filed amicus briefs reiterating their objections. — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1916, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing amicus

• amicus curiae

Legal Definition

amicus

noun

ami·​cus ə-ˈmē-kəs, -ˈmī- 

plural amici -ˈmē-ˌkē, -ˈmī-ˌsī 

: amicus curiae