tribunal

noun

tri·​bu·​nal trī-ˈbyü-nᵊl How to pronounce tribunal (audio)
tri-
1
: a court or forum of justice
2
: something that decides or determines
the tribunal of public opinion
3

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
This would be lawless, since the United States has refused to join the tribunal, and Netanyahu is not accused of committing any crimes here. Eugene Kontorovich, National Review, 3 July 2025 The tribunal has so far issued three arrest warrants for Hasina, including charges of crimes against humanity linked to the July violence. CNN Money, 2 July 2025 Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks after the signing of an agreement for establishing a special tribunal to try top officials responsible for Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, on June 25, 2025. Mark Temnycky, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 July 2025 Since early in the conflict, Kyiv has been pushing for the creation of a special tribunal that goes beyond prosecuting war crimes that Ukraine alleged Russian forces committed — including bombing civilian infrastructure, killing civilians, rape, taking hostages and torture. Molly Quell, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for tribunal

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of tribunal was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tribunal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tribunal. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

tribunal

noun
tri·​bu·​nal trī-ˈbyün-ᵊl How to pronounce tribunal (audio)
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- How to pronounce tribunal (audio)
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

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