litigate
verb
lit·i·gate
ˈli-tə-ˌgāt 
litigated; litigating
: to carry on a legal contest by judicial (see judicial sense 1a) process
… only states can litigate before this Court …—
R. H. Heindel
R. H. HeindelExamples of litigate in a Sentence
They agree to litigate all disputes in this court.
The company's unwillingness to make a deal increased her desire to litigate.
Recent Examples on the Web
The path forward for the NCAA is either to convince Congress to grant an antitrust exemption, recognize college football players as employees who can unionize and bargain workplace rules with their conferences, or continue to litigate and see how that goes.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 12 Mar. 2026
First, federal observers are regarded as neutral and do not work for the Justice Department section that also litigates against counties and states over voting rights issues.
—Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2026
The bar charged Salar Hendizadeh, who left the firm this fall, on March 5 with helping one of Southern California’s largest personal injury law firms sign accident victims across the country, despite lacking attorneys who could litigate the cases in other states.
—Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
But very few of these stories have been litigated in court.
—Maer Roshan, HollywoodReporter, 10 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for litigate
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Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 12 Mar. 2026
First, federal observers are regarded as neutral and do not work for the Justice Department section that also litigates against counties and states over voting rights issues.
—Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2026
The bar charged Salar Hendizadeh, who left the firm this fall, on March 5 with helping one of Southern California’s largest personal injury law firms sign accident victims across the country, despite lacking attorneys who could litigate the cases in other states.
—Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
But very few of these stories have been litigated in court.
—Maer Roshan, HollywoodReporter, 10 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for litigate
Cite this Entry
“Litigate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/litigate. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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Legal Definition
litigate
verb
lit·i·gate
ˈli-tə-ˌgāt
litigated; litigating
: to seek resolution of a legal contest by judicial process
chose to litigate rather than settle
: to make the subject of a suit
litigate a claim
broadly
: to contest or resolve in court
litigate an insanity defense
litigational
adjective
-shə-nəl
litigatory
adjective
ˈli-tə-gə-ˌtōr-ē
Etymology
Latin litigatus, past participle of litigare, from lit-, lis lawsuit + agere to drive
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