justice

noun

jus·​tice ˈjə-stəs 

plural justices

1

a

: the maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments

meting out justice

social justice

b

: judge

especially : a judge of an appellate court or court of last resort (as a supreme court)

a supreme court justice

—used as a title

Justice Marshall

c

: the administration of law

a fugitive from justice

especially : the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity

a system of justice

2

a

: the quality of being just, impartial, or fair

questioned the justice of their decision

b(1)

: the principle or ideal of just dealing or right action

(2)

: conformity to this principle or ideal : righteousness

the justice of their cause

c

: the quality of conforming to law

3

: conformity to truth, fact, or reason : correctness

admitted that there was much justice in these observations

—T. L. Peacock

Synonyms

• equity
• fair shake
• right

Examples of justice in a Sentence

They received justice in court.

the U.S. Department of Justice

criminals attempting to escape justice

The role of the courts is to dispense justice fairly to everyone.

She is a justice of the state supreme court.

I saw no justice in the court's decision.

We should strive to achieve justice for all people.

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Recent Examples on the Web

Nikki Battiste: How has this fight for justice been? —Nikki Battiste, CBS News, 25 Nov. 2023

The policy, agreed upon by all nine justices, does not appear to impose any significant new requirements and leaves compliance entirely to each justice. —Byeamon Barrett, Fortune, 22 Nov. 2023

The arrests set off a firestorm of controversy — and an investigation into the juvenile justice practices in one Tennessee county. —ProPublica, 22 Nov. 2023

The justices read the law as not necessarily guaranteeing representation for people of color, but instead preventing their rights from returning to an earlier state. —Nick Corasaniti, New York Times, 21 Nov. 2023

The court's three conservative justices opposed the four liberal justices' decision to take up the challenge to the state's legislative maps and were quick to question the timing of the case — filed one day after the majority on the court flipped on Aug. 1 and just two years after a previous case. —Barnini Chakraborty, Washington Examiner, 21 Nov. 2023

This is the necessary basis for establishing peace and justice in Palestine and Israel. —Atina Grossmann, The New York Review of Books, 20 Nov. 2023

Public scrutiny has increased on the District’s strategies to combat serious substance abuse, which city officials say tax hospital emergency departments, the criminal justice system and law enforcement. —Jenna Portnoy, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2023

But the justices have been inconsistent in doing so since. —Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 14 Nov. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French justise, from Latin justitia, from justus — see just entry 1

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing justice

• chief justice
• do justice
• do justice to
• justice is served/done
• fugitive from justice
• poetic justice
• pervert justice
• justice of the peace
• pervert the course of justice
• miscarriage of justice

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• chief justice
• do justice
• do justice to
• justice is served/done
• fugitive from justice
• poetic justice
• pervert justice
• justice of the peace
• pervert the course of justice
• miscarriage of justice

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Kids Definition

justice

noun

jus·​tice ˈjəs-təs 

1

: just conduct, management, or treatment

do justice to a book

2

a

: judge entry 2 sense 1

b

: the administration of law

received justice in court

3

a

: the quality of being fair or just

b

: basis in morality, the right, or the law

Legal Definition

justice

noun

jus·​tice ˈjəs-təs 

1

a

: the quality of being just, impartial, or fair

it is not the province of the court to decide upon the justice or injustice…of these laws

—Scott v. Sanford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857)

b

: the principle or ideal of just dealing

also : conformity to the principle or ideal of just dealing

2

a

: the administration of law

a fugitive from justice

especially : the establishment or determination of rights according to law or equity

system of justice

b

: fair, just, or impartial legal process

courts or tribunals…for the administration of international justice

—G. R. Winters

3

: judge

especially : a judge of an appellate court or court of last resort (as a supreme court)

insults to particular justices and threats of civil disobedience were bandied freely

—R. H. Bork

Etymology

Old French, from Latin justitia, from justus just