sidebar

noun

side·​bar ˈsīd-ˌbär 

1

a

: a short news story or graphic accompanying and presenting sidelights of a major story

b

: something incidental : sidelight

a sidebar to the essay's central theme

2

: a conference between the judge, the lawyers, and sometimes the parties to a case that the jury does not hear

Examples of sidebar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Audience development needs screening rooms At several of this year’s panels at the festival’s industry sidebar, RioMarket, key executives and producers frequently mentioned the need for audience development in Brazil. — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026

The sidebar will also showcase Elzam, which is produced by Jassim Al Romaihi and Ahmed Al Baker as an original series from Katara Studios. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2026

Meanwhile, Nora’s family life continues to be a welcome sidebar. — The Know, Denver Post, 27 Sep. 2026

Joan Didion, the mistress of concision and a Hemingway admirer, began her career writing captions and sidebars to fit around pictures in women’s magazines. — Louis Menand, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for sidebar

• abattoir
• alcazar
• autocar
• avatar
• belshazzar
• caviar
• caviare
• cinnabar
• commissar
• condylar
• deodar
• handlebar

Legal Definition

sidebar

noun

side·​bar ˈsīd-ˌbär 

: sidebar conference

had failed to request a sidebar before injecting the collateral offense into the trial

—Dockery v. State, 659 So. 2d 219 (1994)

also : the place near or before the bench where a sidebar conference takes place

the judge informed both attorneys…that they…could stand at sidebar while questions were posed

—Commonwealth v. Urena, 632 N.E.2d 1200 (1994)

compare bench, stand

sidebar adjective