district court

noun

: a trial court that has jurisdiction over certain cases within a specific judicial district

Examples of district court in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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He is expected to appear in the US district court on Thursday in Los Angeles, the agency said. Josh Campbell, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2025 Galvan earlier this month pleaded guilty to murder in a state district court in Tarrant County. Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Oct. 2025 The district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction of such actions which shall be heard and determined by a court of three judges in accordance with the provisions of section 2284 of title 28 of the United States Code and any appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court. JSTOR Daily, 17 Oct. 2025 Details from the indictment filed in Maryland's district court charge Bolton with eight counts for the transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of unlawful retention of such information. NPR, 17 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for district court

Word History

First Known Use

1789, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of district court was in 1789

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Cite this Entry

“District court.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/district%20court. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.

Legal Definition

district court

noun
often capitalized D&C
: a trial court having general or limited jurisdiction in a judicial district: as
a
: one of the federal trial courts sitting in a federal district
b
: a trial court within a state court system

More from Merriam-Webster on district court

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