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

But only Sequoia supports the new Highlights feature, and only Sequoia supports the Summary sidebar in the Reader view. —Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 18 Sep. 2024

The festival’s perennial sidebar, once again presented by Arrow Video, which celebrates a specific region’s exceptional work within horror, turns its eyes to one of the original and most enduring purveyors of the genre. —Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 17 Sep. 2024

When the Street View sidebar pops up, click on your home to be taken to the full Street View page. —Davey Winder, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2024

The director’s eight-year journey to get 40 Acres to the big screen will culminate with a world premiere at TIFF as part of the high-profile Special Presentations sidebar. —Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 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