subpoena

1 of 2

noun

sub·​poe·​na sə-ˈpē-nə 

nonstandard

-nē 

: a writ commanding a person designated in it to appear in court under a penalty for failure

subpoena

2 of 2

verb

subpoenaed; subpoenaing

transitive verb

: to serve or summon with a writ of subpoena

Did you know?

The Origin of Subpoena

If you think you recognize the sub- in subpoena as the prefix meaning "under, beneath, below," you're on target. Subpoena arrived in Modern English (via the Middle English suppena) from the Latin sub poena, a combination of sub and poena, meaning "penalty." Other poena descendants in English include impunity ("freedom from penalty"), penal ("of or relating to punishment"), and even punish. There is also the verb subpoena, as in "Defense lawyers have subpoenaed several witnesses to the crime."

Synonyms

Noun

• process
• summons

Examples of subpoena in a Sentence

Noun

received a subpoena to appear as a witness for the prosecution

Verb

He was subpoenaed to testify in a hearing.

The prosecutor subpoenaed the defendant's financial records.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Jed Wallace also received a subpoena, according to Lively’s spokesperson. —Daniel S. Levine, People.com, 13 Feb. 2025

De Oliveira and Nauta were accused of moving dozens of boxes between a storage room and Trump's Florida residence after a federal subpoena for classified records was issued in May 2022. —Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY, 12 Feb. 2025

Verb

Democratic lawmakers have staged raucous rallies outside of — and tried to gain entry to — federal agencies, attempted to subpoena Musk and even announced articles of impeachment against Trump. —Andrew Solender, Axios, 11 Feb. 2025

On Wednesday, Democratic members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee attempted to subpoena Musk to answer questions under oath about DOGE's work. —Martha McHardy, Newsweek, 7 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English suppena, from Latin sub poena under penalty

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1640, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing subpoena

• subpoena ad testificandum
• subpoena duces tecum

Rhymes for subpoena

• arena
• athena
• cantina
• carina
• carmina
• catena
• czarina
• domina
• equina
• farina
• galena
• glossina

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Kids Definition

subpoena

1 of 2 noun

sub·​poe·​na sə-ˈpē-nə 

: an order in writing commanding a person named in it to appear in court under a penalty for failure to appear

subpoena

2 of 2 verb

subpoenaed; subpoenaing

: to serve or summon with a subpoena

Etymology

Noun

from the Latin phrase sub poena "under penalty"; used as the beginning words of the order

Legal Definition

subpoena

1 of 2 noun

sub·​poe·​na

variants also subpena

sə-ˈpē-nə

: a writ commanding a designated person upon whom it has been served to appear (as in court or before a congressional committee) under a penalty (as a charge of contempt) for failure to comply compare summons

subpoena

2 of 2 transitive verb

variants also subpena

subpoenaed; subpoenaing

: to call before a court or hearing by a subpoena

the inspector is given the power to subpoena any relevant…witnesses

—Harvard Law Review

also : to command the production of (evidence) by a subpoena duces tecum

subpoenaed documents

Etymology

Noun

Latin sub poena under penalty