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

Premiering May 15 in Cannes’ ACID sidebar, the France–Palestine–Iran co-production traces Farsi’s efforts to get closer to the conflict when borders made reporting impossible, and finds a singular, resilient voice in Hassona’s daily dispatches from Gaza. —Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 7 Nov. 2025

Desktop-heavy sections might support longer sidebars or inline charts that would otherwise crowd a phone screen. —Malana Vantyler, Ascend Agency, 6 Nov. 2025

The film, which is being positioned as a Best Animation Oscar contender by Neon, debuted its English-language version in Toronto’s Centrepiece sidebar in September. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 6 Nov. 2025

What happened next during the hearing — which the report states is key to the case — was an off-the-record sidebar between Joseph and the attorneys. —Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 6 Nov. 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