circuit court

noun

: a court that sits at two or more places within one judicial district

Examples of circuit court in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Supreme Court, without offering an opinion about the lawmakers' arguments, sent the case to the circuit court. —CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026

Smart & Safe Florida last week filed a lawsuit in Leon County circuit court alleging state elections officials had improperly directed the invalidation of about 72,000 signatures. —Jim Saunders, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026

The Legal Accountability Project claims circuit court executives failed to intervene when Merriam continued to mistreat staff after the first complaint. —Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 1 Jan. 2026

During a hearing on Friday, a circuit court judge in Leon County declined to freeze the law known as Senate Bill 180, but allowed a lawsuit against it to proceed. —Ryan Ballogg, Miami Herald, 21 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1708, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for circuit court

• heliport
• nonsupport
• reexport
• teleport
• ultrashort
• abort
• airport
• alport
• athwart
• carport
• comport
• consort

Legal Definition

circuit court

noun

: a court that sits in more than one place in a judicial district: as

a

: a state court usually with original jurisdiction and sometimes with appellate jurisdiction

b

: any of the federal courts of appeals

—not used technically

Note: Before 1948, the U.S. Courts of Appeals were known as Circuit Courts of Appeals.