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federal court
noun
: a court established by a federal government
especially
: one established under the constitution and laws of the U.S.
Examples of federal court in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
All three had their first appearances in Miami federal court on Wednesday, with detention hearings on Thursday and Friday.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2025
While incarcerated in the 1990s, Farmer filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that federal prison officials deliberately and indifferently failed to protect her as a prisoner from rape and assault.
—Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 30 Jan. 2025
One of her key allies, Deputy police Chief Lewis Lacey, was charged in federal court with bankruptcy fraud, making false statements and declarations in a bankruptcy case, and perjury in August.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2025
Jones’s rising star on X coincides with the company’s intervention in Jones’s personal bankruptcy case, which has been slogging its way through federal courts since October 2022, after a Connecticut judge ordered Jones to pay $965 million to families of victims of the Sandy Hook massacre.
—John Hyatt, Forbes, 29 Jan. 2025
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Word History
First Known Use
1789, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near federal court
Cite this Entry
“Federal court.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/federal%20court. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
Legal Definition
federal court
noun
: a court established by the federal government and having jurisdiction over questions of federal law
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