criminal court

noun

Synonyms of criminal courtnext
: a court that has jurisdiction to try and punish offenders against criminal law

Examples of criminal court in a Sentence

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.
The mental health courts deal with various legal matters, but one function is to handle the cases of defendants who committed misdemeanors or felonies, have a serious mental illness and have been judged incompetent to stand trial in criminal court. — Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026 Seeking a quick trial, D4vd entered a not guilty plea Monday in a brief appearance in a downtown Los Angeles criminal court. — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 27 July 2026 Green has a history of arrests on suspicion of forgery, assault, theft and fraud, according to criminal court records dating back to 1998 obtained by the Houston Chronicle. — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 23 July 2026 The new law eliminated the Orleans Parish clerk of criminal court’s position by consolidating the Orleans Parish civil and criminal court clerks into one position. — Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 22 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for criminal court

Word History

First Known Use

1605, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of criminal court was in 1605

Rhymes for criminal court

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Browse Nearby Words

criminal conversation
criminal court
criminal defamation
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Cite this Entry

“Criminal court.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/criminal%20court. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

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Legal Definition

criminal court

noun
: a court that has jurisdiction to try criminal defendants

More from Merriam-Webster on criminal court

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for criminal court

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about criminal court

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