interlocutory

adjective

in·​ter·​loc·​u·​to·​ry ˌin-tər-ˈlä-kyə-ˌtȯr-ē 

: made during the progress of a legal action and not final or definitive

an interlocutory appeal

an interlocutory decree

Examples of interlocutory in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Zoom out: This issue of the status of the assets became a larger issue over time, with a court permitting a rare interlocutory appeal on the matter in another case, in order to provide precedent across multiple cases. —Brady Dale, Axios, 19 Mar. 2025

That is why the Supreme Court rarely considers these types of interlocutory appeals. —Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025

The Supreme Court does not typically take on random interlocutory appeals, even by a president-elect. —Katherine Faulders, ABC News, 8 Jan. 2025

But, in the 1975 Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn case, the Court recognized four categories of state-court judgments that permit interlocutory review. —David Blackmon, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

interlocutory

adjective

in·​ter·​loc·​u·​to·​ry ˌin-tər-ˈlä-kyə-ˌtōr-ē 

: not final or definitive

an interlocutory order

broadly : made or done during the progress of an action especially when delay would cause irreversible injury

an interlocutory appeal

Etymology

Medieval Latin interlocutorius, from Late Latin interloqui to pronounce an interlocutory sentence, from Latin, to speak between