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

Bank of America also has agreed to pay certain litigation costs and claims administration costs, and those costs will not come from the fund used to pay class members, records show. —Chase Jordan, Charlotte Observer, 30 Mar. 2026

The process cannot be completed administratively and must proceed through litigation in federal court, where a judge determines whether the government has met its burden of proof. —Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026

Lake Court House Foundation, a domestic nonprofit corporation, declined to comment due to the ongoing nature of the litigation. —Anna Ortiz, Chicago Tribune, 30 Mar. 2026

Paul Flahive is a business litigation and bankruptcy reporter for the Austin American-Statesman. —Paul Flahive, Austin American Statesman, 30 Mar. 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