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supreme court

noun, often capitalized S&C
|Updated on: 14 Jul 2018

Definition of supreme court

1 : the highest judicial tribunal in a political unit (such as a nation or state)
2 : a court of original jurisdiction in New York state subordinate to a final court of appeals

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Recent Examples of supreme court from the Web

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'supreme court.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of supreme court

1686

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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SUPREME COURT Defined for English Language Learners

supreme court

noun

Definition of supreme court for English Language Learners

  • : the highest court of law in a country or U.S. state

SUPREME COURT Defined for Kids

supreme court

noun, often capitalized

Definition of supreme court for Students

: the highest court of law in the United States or in many of its states

Law Dictionary

supreme court

noun su·preme court

legal Definition of supreme court

1 : the highest court in a nation or state; specifically, capitalized S&C : the highest court in the judicial branch of the U.S. government that has original jurisdiction over controversies involving ambassadors or other ministers or consuls but whose main activity is as the court of last resort exercising appellate jurisdiction over cases involving federal law
2 capitalized S&C : a court of original jurisdiction in New York
Note: The court of last resort in New York is the Court of Appeals.

Learn More about supreme court

  1. Britannica English: Translation of supreme court for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about supreme court

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