courthouse

noun

court·​house ˈkȯrt-ˌhau̇s 

1

a

: a building in which courts of law are regularly held

b

: the principal building in which county offices are housed

2

: county seat

Examples of courthouse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The spectacle of Maduro being transported to a New York courthouse may draw inconvenient attention to Putin’s failure to successfully impose regime change on neighboring Ukraine. —Nathan Hodge, CNN Money, 8 Jan. 2026

Immigration officers then detained him outside a Riverside courthouse and put him in immigration detention. —Andrea Klick, Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026

The city hardly lacks for upscale hotels, and at the end of 2025, the Mandarin Oriental opened in an Art Nouveau courthouse in the city center. —Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Jan. 2026

Rozier, 31, made an appearance in a federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, last month for his arraignment. —Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 7 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for courthouse

• alehouse
• almshouse
• backhouse
• baghouse
• bakehouse
• bathhouse
• bauhaus
• blockhouse
• boathouse
• brewhouse
• bunkhouse
• clubhouse

Kids Definition

courthouse

noun

court·​house ˈkō(ə)rt-ˌhau̇s 

ˈkȯ(ə)rt-

: a building in which courts of law are held or county offices are located

Legal Definition

courthouse

noun

court·​house

: a building in which court is regularly held