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

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

Examples of litigation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For roughly the past decade, a flood of litigation has chipped away at many long-standing rules governing college sports — from the tradition of amateurism to rules around transfers and who is eligible to compete at all. — Becky Sullivan, NPR, 28 Sep. 2026

Beutner also announced his attention to file litigation against the bill. — Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2026

Aside from Baldoni, Wallace’s other clients have included actress Rebel Wilson, who is now embroiled in her own defamation litigation with Amanda Ghost, a producer on her film The Deb. — Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2026

In the appeals court ruling, the panel upheld the lower court’s dismissal of Carter’s claims by finding that Buzbee’s demand letter was sent in anticipation of litigation. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1612, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing litigation

• in litigation

Rhymes for litigation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation