pretrial
adjective
pre·tri·al
ˌprē-ˈtrī(-ə)l 
variants
or pre-trial
: occurring or existing before a trial
a pretrial hearing
Examples of pretrial in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The judge has yet to decide on a trial date for the high-profile case or a number of other pretrial legal issues.
—
Devlin Barrett, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
And in his pretrial rulings, Merchan has slapped Trump with a gag order and strictly circumscribed the arguments his lawyers will be allowed to make.
—Michael Rothfeld Emily Woo Zeller Krish Seenivasan David Mason, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024
The Huang family’s lawyers have countered in a court filing that Tesla purposefully hid its questioning of Harding from them until after pretrial fact-finding deadlines.
—Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik, Quartz, 8 Apr. 2024
Judge Kara Petro had issued a gag order limiting pretrial publicity in the case and a court order barring Jackson from future contact with the accuser on Monday.
—Steven Mross, arkansasonline.com, 7 Apr. 2024
The sentence: time served for the 35 days Laube had spent in pretrial custody.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
In a case with this much pretrial publicity, the usual challenge of finding enough people willing or able to sit through the trial is thrown out the window, according to Pace University Law School Professor Bennett Gershman.
—Graham Kates, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2024
The lead-up to a court-martial, and all related pretrial records, are never made public by the Navy.
—Megan Rose, ProPublica, 3 Apr. 2024
In contrast, the Texas suspect was held in pretrial custody for months, after a judge ordered him detained over alarming social media messages.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 20 Mar. 2024
Devlin Barrett, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
And in his pretrial rulings, Merchan has slapped Trump with a gag order and strictly circumscribed the arguments his lawyers will be allowed to make.
—Michael Rothfeld Emily Woo Zeller Krish Seenivasan David Mason, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024
The Huang family’s lawyers have countered in a court filing that Tesla purposefully hid its questioning of Harding from them until after pretrial fact-finding deadlines.
—Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik, Quartz, 8 Apr. 2024
Judge Kara Petro had issued a gag order limiting pretrial publicity in the case and a court order barring Jackson from future contact with the accuser on Monday.
—Steven Mross, arkansasonline.com, 7 Apr. 2024
The sentence: time served for the 35 days Laube had spent in pretrial custody.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
In a case with this much pretrial publicity, the usual challenge of finding enough people willing or able to sit through the trial is thrown out the window, according to Pace University Law School Professor Bennett Gershman.
—Graham Kates, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2024
The lead-up to a court-martial, and all related pretrial records, are never made public by the Navy.
—Megan Rose, ProPublica, 3 Apr. 2024
In contrast, the Texas suspect was held in pretrial custody for months, after a judge ordered him detained over alarming social media messages.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 20 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pretrial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1894, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near pretrial
Cite this Entry
“Pretrial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pretrial. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Legal Definition
pretrial
adjective
pre·tri·al
ˌprē-ˈtrī-əl
: existing or occurring before trial
a pretrial motion
a pretrial detainee
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