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

Jackson County circuit court does not threaten to arrest people related to jury duty, and doesn’t ask citizens to pay fines by phone, officials said. —Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 6 Aug. 2025

Prehn filed a motion to dismiss the case, which a Dane County circuit court denied in March 2022. —Ariela Lopez, jsonline.com, 6 Aug. 2025

In an earlier statement to CBS News, White House spokesman Harrison Fields championed Bove's qualifications for the lifetime appointment to the circuit court. —July 11, CBS News, 11 July 2025

An appeal would likely go first to a circuit court and then to the Supreme Court, which could decide whether LaPlante’s order complies with their decision last month that limited judges’ authority to issue nationwide injunctions. —Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 10 July 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.