tribunal

American  

[trahy-byoon-l, trih-] / traɪˈbjun l, trɪ- /

noun

• tribunals
  plural

1. a court of justice.

2. a place or seat of judgment.

3. Also called tribune. a raised platform for the seats of magistrates, as in an ancient Roman basilica.

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tribunal British  

/ traɪˈbjuːnəl, trɪ- /

noun

1. a court of justice or any place where justice is administered

2. (in Britain) a special court, convened by the government to inquire into a specific matter

3. a raised platform containing the seat of a judge or magistrate, originally that in a Roman basilica

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tribunals
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of tribunal

1520–30; < Latin tribūnal, tribūnāle judgment seat, equivalent to tribūn ( us ) tribune ¹ + -āl ( e ) -al ²

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Explanation

A tribunal is like a court. If you've done something wrong and you get caught it's likely you'll be brought before a tribunal, although not all tribunals are there to determine guilt. Say, for example, you'd like to join a secret society. That society might convene a tribunal to determine whether you're worthy of joining. One way to remember tribunal is to focus on the tri at the beginning of the word. A tribunal is there to "try" a case. A tribunal is a group of people who oversee a trial. Your mom and dad could be a tribunal. You could also think of it as the group who oversees their tribe, which is, in fact, where the word comes from.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tribunal tribunals

Burwood told the tribunal the woman asked her to withdraw cash from her bank account and make donations to charities each week.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Chief prosecutor Gerville Luistro told the tribunal the decision would ease the court's job and speed up the conclusion of the trial, which began on July 6.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

In April, the EU's top tribunal, the European Court of Justice found that the 2021 law violated "the very identity" of the bloc.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

Housing provider Curo has now agreed to limit the charge to just over £100 after being taken to tribunal.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Do you know what I’m going to say to them when I go up before the tribunal?

From "1984" by George Orwell

The arm of the Defense Department provides legal counsel for people facing military tribunals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

"International courts and tribunals must be able to freely carry out their mandates," he added.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

Some tribunals have shown the limits of what's "reasonable."

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

A lot of that was gassy rambling just to fill the air—it was painful to listen to shows that usually bicker about bad trades and general managers start soberly inveighing like journalism tribunals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

The Dominican convents furnished buildings in which to hold its tribunals.

From A History of The Inquisition of The Middle Ages; volume I by Henry Charles Lea

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