Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

county court

American  

noun

  1. (in the U.S.)

    1. an administrative board in counties in some states.

    2. a judicial tribunal in some states with jurisdiction extending over one or more counties.

  2. (in England)

    1. the lowest civil tribunal, having limited jurisdiction, mostly for the recovery of small debts.

    2. (formerly) the assembly of local residents who met periodically in each county under the presidency of the sheriff to transact the judicial and administrative business of the county.


county court British  

noun

  1. (in England) a local court exercising limited jurisdiction in civil matters

"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 county court

First recorded in 1525–35

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.

See Examples For:

Unpaid sums have in a handful of cases seen county court judgments made against both the company and Singh - who goes by Tony, but whose full name is Amun Singh Judge.

From BBC Aug. 25, 2026

He is due to be arraigned at a county court on Friday.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 21, 2026

There is no longer any public trace of Helton’s criminal case in the Ohio county court system; certain nonviolent cases are allowed to be sealed or expunged after a set amount of time has passed.

From Salon Jul. 27, 2026

The county court system, which hears criminal cases as well as a multitude of civil matters, is vast with locations as far north as Lancaster and as far south as Catalina Island.

From Los Angeles Times May 1, 2026

Eric’s father was the clerk of the county court and often passed on news of particularly juicy trials to Eric, whose popularity increased in proportion.

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training