subpoena

1 of 2

noun

sub·​poe·​na sə-ˈpē-nə 

nonstandard

-nē 

: a writ commanding a person designated in it to appear in court under a penalty for failure

subpoena

2 of 2

verb

subpoenaed; subpoenaing

transitive verb

: to serve or summon with a writ of subpoena

Did you know?

The Origin of Subpoena

If you think you recognize the sub- in subpoena as the prefix meaning "under, beneath, below," you're on target. Subpoena arrived in Modern English (via the Middle English suppena) from the Latin sub poena, a combination of sub and poena, meaning "penalty." Other poena descendants in English include impunity ("freedom from penalty"), penal ("of or relating to punishment"), and even punish. There is also the verb subpoena, as in "Defense lawyers have subpoenaed several witnesses to the crime."

Synonyms of subpoena

Noun

• summons

Examples of subpoena in a Sentence

Noun

received a subpoena to appear as a witness for the prosecution

Verb

He was subpoenaed to testify in a hearing.

The prosecutor subpoenaed the defendant's financial records.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Under the settlement agreement, CSU must provide notice to employees as soon as reasonably practicable before complying with any subpoena for employees’ personal information unless notice would be prohibited by law or regulation, according to a statement from the California Faculty Association. —Edsource, Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2026

Lawmakers argued the subpoenas violated the Constitution by allowing an executive branch official to interfere with the legislative branch. —Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 23 Jan. 2026

Verb

Back in June 2025, Baldoni’s team withdrew their bid to subpoena Swift, and instead successfully petitioned for access to said text exchanges. —Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 23 Jan. 2026

The text messages and other documents also reveal growing tensions in the women’s decade-long friendship, which reportedly cooled last year over Swift’s concerns that she would be dragged into Lively’s legal battle with Baldoni and could be subpoenaed to testify in a deposition or in court. —Martha Ross, Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English suppena, from Latin sub poena under penalty

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1640, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing subpoena

• subpoena ad testificandum
• subpoena duces tecum

Rhymes for subpoena

• arena
• athena
• cantina
• carina
• carmina
• catena
• czarina
• domina
• equina
• farina
• galena
• glossina

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Kids Definition

subpoena

1 of 2 noun

sub·​poe·​na sə-ˈpē-nə 

: an order in writing commanding a person named in it to appear in court under a penalty for failure to appear

subpoena

2 of 2 verb

subpoenaed; subpoenaing

: to serve or summon with a subpoena

Etymology

Noun

from the Latin phrase sub poena "under penalty"; used as the beginning words of the order

Legal Definition

subpoena

1 of 2 noun

sub·​poe·​na

variants also subpena

sə-ˈpē-nə

: a writ commanding a designated person upon whom it has been served to appear (as in court or before a congressional committee) under a penalty (as a charge of contempt) for failure to comply compare summons

subpoena

2 of 2 transitive verb

variants also subpena

subpoenaed; subpoenaing

: to call before a court or hearing by a subpoena

the inspector is given the power to subpoena any relevant…witnesses

—Harvard Law Review

also : to command the production of (evidence) by a subpoena duces tecum

subpoenaed documents

Etymology

Noun

Latin sub poena under penalty