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

Spanish, Latin American Momentum Besides the Baltics, Spain’s Basque region gets a special nod, both in the festival and industry sidebar Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event. — Annika Pham, Variety, 3 Nov. 2026

Open the sidebar and tap your profile icon to access Settings. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2026

Sprague asked to offer evidence at sidebar related to the 2021 arrest, and attorneys went to speak with the judge in private. — Penny Kmitt, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026

The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has unveiled a first selection of 10 feature titles locked to world premiere in the Bright Future and Harbour sidebars of its 56th edition in early 2027. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 29 Oct. 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