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jurist

American  
[joor-ist] / ˈdʒʊər ɪst /

noun

  1. a person versed in the law, as a judge, lawyer, or scholar.

jurist British  
/ ˈdʒʊərɪst /

noun

  1. a person versed in the science of law, esp Roman or civil law

  2. a writer on legal subjects

  3. a student or graduate of law

  4. (in the US) a lawyer

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of jurist

1475–85; < French juriste < Medieval Latin jūrist ( a ). See jus, -ist

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.

It exists to be the muscle behind the velayat-e faqih, the guardianship of the jurist.

From BBC • Mar. 2, 2026

Born on April 19, 1939, in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad, Khamenei was the second of eight children to Sayyed Javad Khamenei, a jurist, and Khadijeh Mirdamadi.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2026

This week saw a rather extraordinary version of a jurist reacting to both offenses when U.S.

From Slate • Feb. 28, 2026

Shira Scheindlin, a former district judge who served with Hellerstein, called him an unflinching jurist who has done what “he thought was right in every case, whether it was popular or not.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 11, 2026

Pater Aquillus is a jurist, and his library is filled with everything from obscure law books to ancient Scholar tomes on mathematics.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir

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.