litigation
noun
lit·i·ga·tion
ˌli-tə-ˈgā-shən 
plural litigations
: the act, process, or practice of settling a dispute in a court of law : the act or process of litigating
an issue that has been in litigation for years
an attorney who specializes in the litigation of property disputes
The American Judicial System generally limits the filing of lawsuits to individuals with a personal stake in the litigation, but there are instances when litigants cannot themselves prosecute an action.—
Jonathan Mahler
Jonathan Mahler
also
: a legal action or proceeding (such as a lawsuit)
"You can't realize how much it costs to run one of these litigations. To get a battery of lawyers into a courtroom and do all the planning … and so on costs $500,000." —Gordon Gould
Gordon Gould Examples of litigation in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The only period in modern times that carbon storage increased there was during a decade-long moratorium following protests and litigation.
—John P. O’Brien, Mercury News, 13 Sep. 2025
The new location will allow Wiggam Law to support clients outside of downtown Atlanta and directly in Gwinnett County, offering legal services including audit defense, tax litigation, penalty abatement, innocent spouse relief and IRS collections representation.
—Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
At the news conference Friday, Fletcher said the litigation took a toll on his wife, the high-profile labor leader and former state Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, and on his family.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Sep. 2025
Dixon brings over 20 years of experience to the organization and will oversee all business legal matters, including commercial and business contract drafting and negotiation, litigation matters, real estate portfolios, corporate governance and strategic initiatives.
—Sportico Staff, Sportico.com, 12 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for litigation
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
John P. O’Brien, Mercury News, 13 Sep. 2025
The new location will allow Wiggam Law to support clients outside of downtown Atlanta and directly in Gwinnett County, offering legal services including audit defense, tax litigation, penalty abatement, innocent spouse relief and IRS collections representation.
—Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
At the news conference Friday, Fletcher said the litigation took a toll on his wife, the high-profile labor leader and former state Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, and on his family.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Sep. 2025
Dixon brings over 20 years of experience to the organization and will oversee all business legal matters, including commercial and business contract drafting and negotiation, litigation matters, real estate portfolios, corporate governance and strategic initiatives.
—Sportico Staff, Sportico.com, 12 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for litigation
Cite this Entry
“Litigation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/litigation. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share