court-martial

1 of 2

noun

court-mar·​tial ˈkȯrt-ˌmär-shəl How to pronounce court-martial (audio)
-ˈmär-
plural courts-martial also court-martials
1
: a court consisting of commissioned officers and in some instances enlisted personnel for the trial of members of the armed forces or others within its jurisdiction
2
: a trial by court-martial

court-martial

2 of 2

verb

court-martialed also court-martialled; court-martialing also court-martialling ˈkȯrt-ˌmär-sh(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce court-martial (audio)
-ˈmär-

transitive verb

: to subject to trial by court-martial

Examples of court-martial in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Special prosecutors Barbara Whaley and Alex Garcia informed the jury that Calvin Phillips was killed because he was soon scheduled to testify in Martin’s military court-martial trial. Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 23 Feb. 2024 Manning was convicted at a court-martial in 2013 and sentenced to 35 years in prison. Maite Fernández Simon, Washington Post, 20 Feb. 2024 The court-martial records in the U.S. National Archives, reported on by the Washington Post on Monday, detail the trial of Moses J. Robinette after a fight with fellow Union Army civilian employee John J. Alexander on March 21, 1864. CBS News, 19 Feb. 2024 Richmond was 20 when an Army court-martial panel convicted him of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced him to three years of military confinement for killing Muhamad Husain Kadir in February 2004. CBS News, 31 Jan. 2024 The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial begins at a naval court-martial, where Barney Greenwald (Jason Clarke), a skeptical naval lawyer, reluctantly agrees to defend Lt. Lauren Huff, EW.com, 5 Sep. 2023 Seaman Recruit Ryan Mays was found not guilty at his court-martial. Megan Rose, ProPublica, 24 Aug. 2023 Instead of sending him to one of the military’s specialized brain injury centers to see whether a brain injury or some other factor might have caused his deterioration, commanders sent him to a court-martial for pushing his wife and other crimes related to the incident. Dave Philipps, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2023 Just one officer, Major Harry Grier, who was not an attorney, represented all the defendants throughout three courts-martial with only ten days’ preparation, per the Houston Chronicle. Teresa Nowakowski, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Nov. 2023

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

Noun

1651, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1833, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of court-martial was in 1651

Dictionary Entries Near court-martial

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

court-martial

1 of 2 noun
court-mar·​tial
ˈkōrt-ˌmär-shəl,
ˈkȯrt-,
-ˈmär-
plural courts-martial also court-martials
1
: a military court
2
: a trial by court-martial

court-martial

2 of 2 verb
court-martialed also court-martialled; court-martialing also court-martialling
-ˌmärsh-(ə)-liŋ,
-ˈmärsh-
: to try by court-martial

Legal Definition

court-martial

1 of 2 noun
court-mar·​tial
ˈkōrt-ˌmär-shəl
plural courts-martial also court-martials
1
: a court consisting of commissioned officers and in some instances enlisted personnel for the trial of members of the armed forces or others within its jurisdiction
2
: a trial by a court-martial

court-martial

2 of 2 transitive verb
court-martialed also court-martialled; court-martialing also court-martialling
: to subject to trial by court-martial
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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