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

She was taken into custody without incident on Saturday, and charges are pending in district court. —Paula Wethington, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026

Blanco, chief judge of Larimer and Jackson counties, has served as a district court judge for nine years. —Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 17 Feb. 2026

The Iowa Supreme Court has reversed a district court decision that negated findings of child abuse related to the death of an infant. —Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch, 14 Feb. 2026

In a retrial compelled by the defendant’s successful appeal connected to a judge’s flawed jury instruction, a state district court jury in Tarrant County on Friday imposed a prison term 17 years longer than did the jury in his first trial. —Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1731, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for district court

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

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