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

In the end, his performance became a sidebar of the main storyline. —Drew Vonscio, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025

Agora, the industry sidebar to Thessaloniki Intl. —Leo Barraclough, Variety, 3 Oct. 2025

After breaking out in 2016, Khalid became an industry darling, garnering five Grammy nominations and becoming a go-to duet partner for everyone from Ed Sheeran to Billie Eilish (see sidebar). —Jeff Nelson, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025

The festival is also introducing the New Horizons sidebar for films by both emerging and established directors with a unique cinematic vision. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2025

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