petitioner

noun

pe·​ti·​tion·​er pə-ˈti-sh(ə-)nər How to pronounce petitioner (audio)
plural petitioners
: one who makes, submits, or signs a petition
The lost children had not been found. Public prayers had been offered up for them, and many and many a private prayer that had the petitioner's whole heart in it; but still no good news came from the cave.Mark Twain
The high court held that when a petition charges an official with violating the law, the petitioners must at least have knowledge of facts which indicate an intent to commit an unlawful act.The National Law Journal
The petitioner contended that the taking of the blood sample and the admission of the test results violated his fifth amendment privilege against self-incrimination …Raymond P. Ward
… the draft of the proposed petition was read at length: and the petition said, as all petitions DO say, that the petitioners were very humble, and the petitioned very honourable, and the object very virtuous; therefore (said the petition) the bill ought to be passed into a law at once …Charles Dickens
Included in Wednesday's court filing was a petition signed by more than 500 area residents. The petitioners ask that Johnson "be shown mercy and not subjected to a jail term" because he has lost so much due to the conviction.Michael Smith

Examples of petitioner in a Sentence

the lottery winner was beset by a horde of petitioners, all of whom thought that they were most deserving of his charity
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 authors of lot oracles came prepared for petitioners’ implicit doubt. Elizabeth Djinis, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Oct. 2024 To date, his PAC has neither released the names of its signatories nor their number, which is typically something petitioners do to demonstrate how popular the idea is. Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2024 The Supreme Court ruled that the popular name of the amendment, ‘The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2024’, and its ballot title were misleading and refused to grant the petitioners’ request to count votes. Dario Sabaghi, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024 In response to online arguments that Musk is paying to register Republicans, the tech mogul tweeted on Sunday that the winner of the prize is selected by a petitioner that supports constitutional rights. Solcyré Burga, TIME, 21 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for petitioner 

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

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

Dictionary Entries Near petitioner

Cite this Entry

“Petitioner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/petitioner. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.

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