probate

American  

[proh-beyt] / ˈproʊ beɪt /

noun

probates plural

1. Law. the official proving of a will as authentic or valid in a probate court.

2. an officially certified copy of a will so proved.

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adjective

1. of or relating to probate or a probate court.

verb (used with object)

probates, present (3rd person singular) probated, past participle, past probating present participle

1. to establish the authenticity or validity of (a will).

2. Law. to put (an offender) on probation.

probate British  

/ -beɪt, ˈprəʊbɪt /

noun

1. the act or process of officially proving the authenticity and validity of a will

2. 1. the official certificate stating a will to be genuine and conferring on the executors power to administer the estate

   2. the probate copy of a will

3. (in the US) all matters within the jurisdiction of a probate court

4. (modifier) of, relating to, or concerned with probate

   probate value

   a probate court

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verb

1. (tr) to establish officially the authenticity and validity of (a will)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unprobated
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• probates
  plural

Participles

• probating
  present
• probated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• probate
  simple
• probates
  simple
• have probated
  perfect
• has probated
  perfect
• am probating
  progressive
• are probating
  progressive
• is probating
  progressive
• have been probating
  perfect progressive
• has been probating
  perfect progressive

Past

• probated
  simple
• had probated
  perfect
• was probating
  progressive
• were probating
  progressive
• had been probating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will probate
  simple
• will have probated
  perfect
• will be probating
  progressive
• will have been probating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of probate

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English probat, from Latin probātum “a thing approved,” noun use of neuter past participle of probāre “to examine, test”; see prove

Explanation

Probate is the act of proving the legal validity of a will. A will may require probate because the person that signed it isn’t around to verify his or her signature. As Ambrose Bierce wrote, “Death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate.” So comes the need for the probate. Though probate, from the Latin probare, “to test or prove,” is usually used for wills, it can also be applied to other legal documents, as in the proving of the validity of a document, or an official certification proving the document is real. Probate is also a verb meaning “to place a convicted person on probation.”

Example Sentences

Probate cases are far from unusual for LaPorte.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 29, 2026

“Probate is a court-supervised process of paying debts, closing accounts, and distributing the remaining assets of a person after their death,” says the Georgia Probate Law Group.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 16, 2025

Later, she filed a petition in the Fulton County Probate Court, seeking to remove Vinit’s brother as his guardian and conservator, and requesting that she be appointed the successor.

From Slate • Dec. 8, 2025

Probate law needs to be reformed to prevent properties “sitting empty in perpetuity,” he adds, but above all he believes empty homes need to be put back in the spotlight as a national issue.

From BBC • Oct. 19, 2024

And so he had obtained a Commonwealth of Massachusetts change-of-name form, to submit along with a certified copy of his birth certificate and a check to the Middlesex Probate and Family Court.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri