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

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

The film, which world premiered in TIFF’s Centrepiece sidebar, was shot entirely in Gaza with local Palestinian cast and crew under wartime conditions. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 21 Sep. 2026

With nearly a dozen sections, including five competition categories and six non-competitive sidebars, the festival offers a broad showcase. — Ed Meza, Variety, 19 Sep. 2026

After its premiere in the Venice Spotlight sidebar, Hombre should make headways in Latin America but will have a harder time navigating international waters. — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 7 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