summons

1 of 2

noun

sum·​mons ˈsə-mənz 

plural summonses

1

: the act of summoning

especially : a call by authority to appear at a place named or to attend to a duty

2

: a warning or citation to appear in court: such as

a

: a written notification to be served on a person as a warning to appear in court at a day specified to answer to the plaintiff

b

: a subpoena to appear as a witness

3

: something (such as a call) that summons

summons

2 of 2

verb

summonsed; summonsing; summonses

transitive verb

: summon sense 2

Synonyms

Noun

• process
• subpoena

Examples of summons in a Sentence

Noun

The judge issued a summons.

He received a royal summons.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

According to the city’s Sanitation Department, the coordinating agency for street vending enforcement, more than 3,000 summonses have been issued to unlicensed vendors this year. —Valerie Castro, NBC News, 17 Oct. 2024

The outlets reported that the Department of Buildings issued a full vacate order as well as summonses to the attraction's owners. —Charlotte Phillipp, People.com, 12 Oct. 2024

Verb

In November 2023, Ivanka Trump was summonsed to the New York State Supreme Court to testify against her father, Donald Trump, in a civil real estate fraud trial. —Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 13 Sep. 2024

He has not been arrested or summonsed, but police Monday said the incident is still being investigated. —Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 1 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English somouns, from Anglo-French somonse, from past participle of somondre

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1659, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing summons

• writ of summons

Kids Definition

summons

1 of 2 noun

sum·​mons ˈsəm-ənz 

plural summonses

1

: the act of summoning

especially : a call by authority to appear at a place named or to attend to some duty

2

: a warning or notice to appear in court

3

: a call, signal, or knock that summons

summons

2 of 2 verb

: summon sense 2

Legal Definition

summons

1 of 2 noun

sum·​mons ˈsə-mənz 

plural summonses

-mən-zəz

: a written notification that one is required to appear in court: as

a

: a document in a civil suit that is issued by an authorized judicial officer (as a clerk of court) and delivered to a plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney for service on the defendant and that notifies the defendant that he or she must appear and defend (as by filing an answer) within a specified time or a default judgment will be rendered for the plaintiff

b

: a document that summons a defendant to appear before a court to answer a minor criminal charge and that is issued in lieu of a warrant for arrest by an authorized judicial officer (as a magistrate) upon request of a prosecuting attorney

c

: a notification to appear for jury service

d

: a notification to appear as a witness see also john doe summons, service compare subpoena

summons

2 of 2 transitive verb

summonsed

-mənzd

; summonsing

-mən-ziŋ

: summon

especially : to bring into court by a summons

hereby summonsed to serve as a trial juror