federal case

noun

: big deal

don't make a federal case out of it

Examples of federal case in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After eight months of what the government says was an attack on a North Texas ICE detention center, the federal case is now nearly in the hands of the jury. —Kelsy Mittauer, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2026

Other than the federal case, police haven’t announced any arrests or charges against any of the other suspects, which amount to around 20 people. —Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2026

Four of those federal cases were chosen as bellwether cases, meaning their outcomes are meant to help guide how all the other cases in federal court in Chicago might proceed, and/or how to settle those cases. —Lisa Schencker, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026

MacFarlane covered the 1,600 federal cases brought against the participants in the Capitol siege, the largest criminal prosecution in history. —Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for federal case

• aromatase
• hydrogenase
• nitrogenase
• oligoclase
• oxygenase
• plagioclase
• polymerase
• streptokinase
• triphosphatase
• abase
• airspace
• apace