sidebar

noun

side·​bar ˈsīd-ˌbär 

1

a

: a short news story or graphic accompanying and presenting sidelights of a major story

b

: something incidental : sidelight

a sidebar to the essay's central theme

2

: a conference between the judge, the lawyers, and sometimes the parties to a case that the jury does not hear

Examples of sidebar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The film originally world premiered in Tribeca’s Viewpoint sidebar in 2023. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 26 Feb. 2025

With that and other problems — such as the sidebar becoming inoperable — the fact that File Explorer hasn’t crashed doesn’t matter. —Zak Doffman, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2025

Premiering in Berlin’s Generation sidebar, The Botanist could find spots at other fests and with select niche distributors, especially those catering to children who are curious to discover an unseen world. —Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Feb. 2025

The International Film category is no longer a sidebar to the wider Oscar competition, but a springboard into it. —Nate Jones, Vulture, 1 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for sidebar

• abattoir
• alcazar
• autocar
• avatar
• belshazzar
• caviar
• caviare
• cinnabar
• commissar
• condylar
• deodar
• handlebar

Legal Definition

sidebar

noun

side·​bar ˈsīd-ˌbär 

: sidebar conference

had failed to request a sidebar before injecting the collateral offense into the trial

—Dockery v. State, 659 So. 2d 219 (1994)

also : the place near or before the bench where a sidebar conference takes place

the judge informed both attorneys…that they…could stand at sidebar while questions were posed

—Commonwealth v. Urena, 632 N.E.2d 1200 (1994)

compare bench, stand

sidebar adjective