appellate

adjective

ap·​pel·​late ə-ˈpe-lət 

: of, relating to, or recognizing appeals

specifically : having the power to review the judgment of another tribunal

an appellate court

Examples of appellate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

On Thursday, an appellate court judge reversed her conviction and remanded the case to the lower court for reconsideration. —Christa Swanson, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2026

Civilian oversight bodies can subpoena records from law enforcement agencies during whistleblower investigations, according to a recent California appellate court ruling. —Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026

While the misdemeanor child molestation count was vacated because of the issue involving the girl’s testimony, the appellate panel said there was sufficient evidence to support the conviction and that Lopez could be retried on that count. —Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026

An appellate court has paused the order for now, and at time of publication had yet to rule on the merits. —Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin appellātus, past participle of appellāre "to appeal against a judgment," going back to Latin, "to speak to, address, apply to for support, refer to a higher authority" — more at appeal entry 2

First Known Use

1765, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for appellate

• chelate
• pellet
• prelate
• zealot

Kids Definition

appellate

adjective

ap·​pel·​late ə-ˈpel-ət 

: having the power to review the decisions of a lower court

an appellate court

Legal Definition

appellate

adjective

ap·​pel·​late ə-ˈpe-lət 

: of or relating to appeals or the power to hear appeals

the appellate process

an appellate court