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

This year, the sidebar returns with a seven-title lineup for its Blood Window Screenings program. —Jamie Lang, Variety, 19 Nov. 2024

In one example, searching for musical festivals in Boone, North Carolina, in August results in a list of each festival and a short description, followed by a link to a website for that festival, with a sidebar with links to other relevant results like event scheduling or ticket sales. —Ty Roush, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024

His joke about movies where the president gets kidnapped is a little sidebar and also some of the most deft political commentary this year. —Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2024

Color Code Labels: To color code your labels, hover over a label in the sidebar, click the three dots, and select Label color. —Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 21 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 2

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