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 litigation is now complicating the rollout of a Bureau of Prisons policy revision, issued in February, that would end all complimentary in-prison access to hormonal drugs and cosmetic surgeries for gender-affirmation purposes.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 24 Mar. 2026
The case in New Mexico state court is among the first to reach trial in a wave of litigation involving social media platforms and their impacts on children.
—Morgan Lee, Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2026
Aside from its relationship with Microsoft, OpenAI cited risks such as its significant capital expenditures, reliance on compute resources, ongoing litigation with Elon Musk’s xAI, and its unusual structure as a public benefit corporation, whose parent is the OpenAI Foundation.
—Lora Kolodny,ashley Capoot, CNBC, 23 Mar. 2026
Even oral arguments in other capital cases have been rescheduled as a result of execution litigation.
—Melanie Verdecia, Sun Sentinel, 22 Mar. 2026
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Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 24 Mar. 2026
The case in New Mexico state court is among the first to reach trial in a wave of litigation involving social media platforms and their impacts on children.
—Morgan Lee, Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2026
Aside from its relationship with Microsoft, OpenAI cited risks such as its significant capital expenditures, reliance on compute resources, ongoing litigation with Elon Musk’s xAI, and its unusual structure as a public benefit corporation, whose parent is the OpenAI Foundation.
—Lora Kolodny,ashley Capoot, CNBC, 23 Mar. 2026
Even oral arguments in other capital cases have been rescheduled as a result of execution litigation.
—Melanie Verdecia, Sun Sentinel, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for litigation
Cite this Entry
“Litigation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/litigation. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
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