barrister
Americannoun
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(in England) a lawyer who is a member of one of the Inns of Court and who has the privilege of pleading in the higher courts.
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Informal. any lawyer.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of barrister
1535–45; derivative of bar 1, perhaps after obsolete legister lawyer or minister
Explanation
The Brits and Canadians prefer to say barrister instead of "lawyer," but they mean the same thing. A barrister is a person who goes to court on behalf of the defense or the prosecution. The image of the barrister — a lawyer who pleads cases in the higher, or what is called "superior," courts of Britain — is of a white-wigged gentleman wearing a long black gown over a dark suit. Now, everyone who is a barrister wears white wigs. Barristers are so named because they were literally "called to the bar," which means that they are able to practice law. Barristers are not the same as solicitors, who advise clients but only appear in Britain's lower courts.
Vocabulary lists containing barrister
A Doll's House
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Akata Witch
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Water for Elephants
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Were you racing at that point?" asked his barrister Sean Minihan.
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
Her father was a barrister, her mother an English teacher who, in a previous life, had also been going to audition after audition.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
The defence, led by British barrister Peter Haynes after a reshuffle, had urged judges not to set a date for trial, arguing that Duterte's health needed to be assessed.
From Barron's • May 27, 2026
However, for this hearing, Emily had a new barrister - Jonathan Adler - who had done his own investigations into hair strand testing.
From BBC • May 26, 2026
Duma Nokwe, the young and good-natured barrister who was then national secretary of the Youth League, was among them.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
