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 games are the brainchild of Aron D’Souza, a forty-year-old Australian entrepreneur and lawyer known for leading the litigation, brought by Hulk Hogan and bankrolled by Peter Thiel, against Gawker Media.
—Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 20 Sep. 2025
Anna Marron, spokesperson for the Department of Environmental Quality, declined to comment Friday, citing active litigation.
—Kevin Fixler
september 20, Idaho Statesman, 20 Sep. 2025
The litigation alleges that corporations misled the public for decades about the dangers of burning fossil fuels, the primary cause of climate change.
—Michael Copley, NPR, 19 Sep. 2025
He has been recognized in Woodward/White’s Best Lawyers in America since its inception in 1987 in the categories of Commercial, Eminent Domain and Personal Injury litigation and as the Top 1% of Trial Lawyers in the United States, the news release stated.
—News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Sep. 2025
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Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 20 Sep. 2025
Anna Marron, spokesperson for the Department of Environmental Quality, declined to comment Friday, citing active litigation.
—Kevin Fixler
september 20, Idaho Statesman, 20 Sep. 2025
The litigation alleges that corporations misled the public for decades about the dangers of burning fossil fuels, the primary cause of climate change.
—Michael Copley, NPR, 19 Sep. 2025
He has been recognized in Woodward/White’s Best Lawyers in America since its inception in 1987 in the categories of Commercial, Eminent Domain and Personal Injury litigation and as the Top 1% of Trial Lawyers in the United States, the news release stated.
—News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 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 27 Sep. 2025.
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