courthouse

noun

court·​house ˈkȯrt-ˌhau̇s How to pronounce courthouse (audio)
1
a
: a building in which courts of law are regularly held
b
: the principal building in which county offices are housed
2

Examples of courthouse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The Boogaloo ideology allegedly embraced by Gray has fueled a string of crimes, including the murder by a former Air Force Sergeant of a guard at a federal courthouse in Oakland, Calif. Aaron Schaffer, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2024 If that sounds a bit vague to the layperson, its target is crystal clear to legal experts: It’s aimed at right-wing activists and politicians who have filed their cases in federal courthouses presided over by highly partisan judges in Texas. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024 On six different occasions, first at the Van Nuys Courthouse and then at the downtown Los Angeles criminal courthouse, interactions between Monica and Baker were recorded. Greg Fisher, CBS News, 14 Mar. 2024 Now, multiple courthouses in the area have now been taken over and occupied by gangs. Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN, 4 Mar. 2024 Meghan visited Uvalde days after the shooting where she was seen placing flowers at a makeshift memorial in front of the county courthouse. Sharif Paget, CNN, 9 Mar. 2024 The payments appeared in campaign finance documents filed on the same day that Grisham and other leaders of the recall campaign appeared on the front steps of a downtown Oakland courthouse to submit more than 123,000 signatures in their bid to remove Price from office. Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2024 During the many high-profile trials held in this Lower Manhattan courthouse — including those of former President Donald J. Trump and the crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried — network film crews have clustered out front with state-of-the-art news vans equipped with lighting units. Wesley Parnell, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2024 At the courthouse, Paxton has targeted the three judges who were part of an 8-1 majority that stripped the attorney general’s power to prosecute voter fraud without permission from local district attorneys. Jim Vertuno, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'courthouse.' 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

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of courthouse was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near courthouse

Cite this Entry

“Courthouse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/courthouse. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

courthouse

noun
court·​house ˈkō(ə)rt-ˌhau̇s How to pronounce courthouse (audio)
ˈkȯ(ə)rt-
: a building in which courts of law are held or county offices are located

Legal Definition

courthouse

noun
court·​house
: a building in which court is regularly held

More from Merriam-Webster on courthouse

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