tribunal

noun

tri·​bu·​nal trī-ˈbyü-nᵊl 

tri-

1

: a court or forum of justice

2

: something that decides or determines

the tribunal of public opinion

3

: tribune entry 2

Synonyms of tribunal

• court
• bench
• judiciary

Examples of tribunal in a Sentence

An international tribunal was formed to deal with war crimes.

was tried before a military tribunal and found not guilty of the charges

Recent Examples on the Web

This case will go before a tribunal once all of the defendants have filed replies to the initial complaint. — Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 11 Nov. 2026

Her decision triggered a battle over legal consequences surrounding workplace misconduct claims and the authority of campus tribunals. — Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 6 Nov. 2026

One of the new judges, Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, published the notice of suspension for Święczkowski, the tribunal president, on the court's website. — ABC News, 3 Nov. 2026

Two decades ago, as Colombia’s army fought powerful leftist guerrillas, soldiers killed around 7,000 civilians, dressing up and planting guns on the corpses to inflate enemy body counts, a tribunal later found. — New York Times, 30 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin, platform for magistrates, from tribunus tribune

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for tribunal

• communal
• jejunal
• lagoonal
• monsoonal
• intercommunal

Kids Definition

tribunal

noun

tri·​bu·​nal trī-ˈbyün-ᵊl 

trib-ˈyün-

1

: the seat of a judge

2

: a court of justice

3

: something that decides or determines

the tribunal of public opinion

Legal Definition

tribunal

noun

tri·​bu·​nal trī-ˈbyün-ᵊl, tri- 

1

: the seat of a judge or one acting as a judge

2

: a court or forum of justice : a person or body of persons having to hear and decide disputes so as to bind the parties

Etymology

Latin, platform for magistrates, from tribunus tribune, from tribus tribe