supreme court

noun

variants often Supreme Court
Synonyms of supreme courtnext
1
: the highest judicial tribunal in a political unit (such as a nation or state)
2
: a court of original jurisdiction in New York state subordinate to a final court of appeals

Examples of supreme court in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The negotiations are focused on rebuilding institutions, including Venezuela’s supreme court and electoral commission, to underpin free and fair elections. — Helena Carpio, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026 In the heated news coverage of what’s at stake in the 2026 midterms, state supreme court races are drawing relatively little attention. — Rachel Rebouché, The Conversation, 7 Oct. 2026 But the state supreme court affirmed in a 5-2 decision that Boulder’s legal claims are not preempted by federal law and that a trial could proceed in Boulder district court. — Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 4 Oct. 2026 After Maduro was removed, Rodríguez, who was his vice president, stepped in as interim leader, and was given a six-month mandate by the nation’s supreme court. — ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for supreme court

Word History

First Known Use

1686, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of supreme court was in 1686

Rhymes for supreme court

See All Rhymes for supreme court

Browse Nearby Words

Supreme Being
supreme court
supreme good
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Supreme court.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/supreme%20court. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

supreme court

noun
: the highest court in a political unit (as the U.S. or one of its states)

Legal Definition

supreme court

noun
su·​preme court
1
: the highest court in a nation or state
specifically, capitalized S&C : the highest court in the judicial branch of the U.S. government that has original jurisdiction over controversies involving ambassadors or other ministers or consuls but whose main activity is as the court of last resort exercising appellate jurisdiction over cases involving federal law
2
capitalized S&C : a court of original jurisdiction in New York

Note: The court of last resort in New York is the Court of Appeals.

More from Merriam-Webster on supreme court

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for supreme court

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about supreme court

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All