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  

/ trɪ-, traɪˈbjuːnəl /

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

Etymology

Origin of tribunal

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

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

Another challenge can be determining what constitutes a "reasonable adjustment," a sticking point which can be what ends up being decided in a tribunal.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

The tribunal found that the company's failure to provide this adjustment had led to his employment ending.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

He rejected it and took his case to a tribunal.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

Taking one of the UK's biggest grocery chains to an employment tribunal was something that Ryan Toghill says almost took over his life.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

I can imagine what Coin’s war tribunal will do with that.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

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

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

"What we're seeing in tribunals is rarely the result of deliberate discrimination," says Lutfur Ali, a diversity and inclusion adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the professional body for HR.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

The court is the heir to the Nuremberg tribunals that tried Nazis after World War II.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

But, they’re committed on the high seas, so to the extent there’s jurisdiction at all, this falls under the authority of federal district court or federal military tribunals.

From Slate ● Apr. 16, 2026

It is more probable, however, that this, or something very near it, was the original signification of the word from which the tribunals took their name.

From Secret Societies of the Middle Ages by Keightley, Thomas

Related Words

• board
• committee
• judge
• justice