court-martial
noun
a court consisting of military or naval personnel appointed by a commander to try charges of offenses by soldiers, sailors, etc., against military or naval law.
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court-martial
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court martial
court martialnouna military court that tries persons subject to military law
court-martial
American
[kawrt-mahr-shuhl, -mahr-, kohrt-]
/ ˈkɔrtˌmɑr ʃəl, -ˈmɑr-, ˈkoʊrt- /
noun
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courts-martial,
plural
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court-martials
plural
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a court consisting of military or naval personnel appointed by a commander to try charges of offenses by soldiers, sailors, etc., against military or naval law.
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a trial by such a court.
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a conviction by such a court.
He lost his privileges because of his court-martial.
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a session of such a court.
He attended the court-martial this morning.
verb (used with object)
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court-martials,
present (3rd person singular)
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court-martialed,
past participle, past
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court-martialled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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court-martialing,
present participle
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court-martialling
present participle (especially British)
court martial
British
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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court-martialsimple
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court-martialssimple
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have court-martialedperfect
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have court-martialledperfect
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has court-martialedperfect
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has court-martialledperfect
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am court-martialingprogressive
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am court-martiallingprogressive
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are court-martialingprogressive
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are court-martiallingprogressive
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is court-martialingprogressive
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is court-martiallingprogressive
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have been court-martialingperfect progressive
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have been court-martiallingperfect progressive
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has been court-martialingperfect progressive
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has been court-martiallingperfect progressive
Past
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court-martialedsimple
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court-martialledsimple
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had court-martialedperfect
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had court-martialledperfect
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was court-martialingprogressive
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was court-martiallingprogressive
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were court-martialingprogressive
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were court-martiallingprogressive
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had been court-martialingperfect progressive
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had been court-martiallingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of court-martial
First recorded in 1565–75; earlier martial court
Explanation
A court-martial is a special legal trial for members of the military. When someone in the armed forces is accused of a crime, they are usually subject to court-martial. Court-martial is the official name of a military court, or for a trial within that kind of court. Active military members are subject to a separate set of laws from civilians, and part of that military legal process involves facing a judge in a court-martial. Criminal offenses like theft and assault are tried this way, as are military-specific crimes like desertion. Martial means "pertaining to war."
Vocabulary lists containing court-martial
Fallen Angels
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The Martian
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The Judicial Branch
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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:
In 2021, a court-martial dismissed Villamide for negligence and sentenced other officers to up to 45 days in jail for concealing information.
From Barron's ● Mar. 3, 2026
All of this may be of little practical concern since the chances of your ever actually facing a court-martial for obeying these particular unlawful orders are slim to zero.
From Slate ● Nov. 24, 2025
The Pentagon said on Monday that further action may be taken against Kelly, including a recall to active duty for court-martial or administrative measures.
From BBC ● Nov. 24, 2025
On Monday, the Department of Defense announced a probe into Kelly, saying the congressman could be recalled to face a court-martial.
From Salon ● Nov. 24, 2025
“I’d like your opinion, sir. You are the second-ranking officer in this army. Do you believe that these court-martial papers should be signed?”
From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara
Prior to that, a military captain, Meir Tobianski, was executed for treason following a makeshift court martial in June 1948, shortly after the Israeli state was established.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2026
Besigye's case was initially tried as a court martial but later moved to a civilian court after the Supreme Court ruled it was unconstitutional to try civilians in military courts.
From Barron's ● Jan. 20, 2026
Their court martial, in a strange display of leniency, sentenced the most culpable perpetrator to just 10 years in prison, while one of the four defendants did not even receive a punitive discharge.
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2024
The sailors were tried and convicted in a court martial, sentenced to bad conduct discharge and fined three months pay.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2024
And there was the- matter of the court martial on the crimes of Colonel Graff.
From "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card
The secretary general called for on-site court-martials of alleged perpetrators and DNA testing to identify them.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 4, 2016
The Philippine military said that Gudani and Balutan will also face court-martials.
From Time Magazine Archive
The authorities called for court-martials but quieted down when it was learned that the whole frontier was in cahoots with the Black Boys.
From Time Magazine Archive
Xissley, told me that I had been more expense to the Army, due to court-martials, etc., than I could ever repay, even though I should serve the Army 30 -ears.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Central Committee had, in the meantime, fixed the elections for the Wednesday, decreed the raising of the state of siege, the abolition of the court-martials, and amnesty for all political crimes and offences.
From History of the Commune of 1871 by P. Lissagary
But they are the ones who will face courts-martial and federal indictments if they cross the line.
From Slate ● Dec. 3, 2025
On Wednesday, Del Toro told the Washington Post the decision came after a Navy investigation found legal errors made in the 1944 courts-martial.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2024
Krass' new guidance says that the 2016 law makes access to courts-martial records "distinct from the right" to federal records granted under FOIA.
From Salon ● Feb. 1, 2023
Commanders, Speier added, would have “no meaningful role” in convening the courts-martial — and would be subject to discipline themselves if they don’t heed the special prosecutor’s charging decisions.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 4, 2021
Of special interest is the series of naval records, despatches to and from naval commanders, proceedings of courts-martial, and logs in the Record Office which have never been properly utilized.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 5 English History by Various
Because Mauldin himself was a soldier, Patton could have him court-martialed and put in jail.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026
Kelly could even be recalled to active duty, then court-martialed, an act that would remove his military status entirely and even land the senator in prison.
From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2026
David Christopher Noble, 48, a former US Air Force officer who was previously court-martialed and dismissed from the military, and Nicole Devilbiss, 35.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2024
Jenkins was court-martialed, dishonorably discharged and served a brief sentence — during which he claimed he was intensely debriefed by U.S. intelligence officials.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 19, 2023
Disobeying an order meant Kelley could be court-martialed: tried before a military court, and sentenced if found guilty.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
"If it was someone else, they would have been court-martialled."
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2022
When Guevara asked what would happen to him, Prado said he told the guerrilla that he would be court-martialled in the city of Santa Cruz.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 5, 2017
Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning directly to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Monday at a hearing to determine whether Manning will be court-martialled in the biggest leak of classified documents in American history.
From Reuters ● Dec. 20, 2011
Twenty-one Americans refused to return to the United States; forty announced that they had become Communists; and fourteen were court-martialled, and eleven of those were convicted.
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 8, 2003
"Well, he deserves to be court-martialled for saying so! "
From The Hero by W. Somerset (William Somerset) Maugham
The service also has considered court-martialing skippers, only to ultimately decide that was not warranted.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 17, 2018
Amerine believes the Army is bent on court-martialing him once the Criminal Investigation Command finishes its probe.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 14, 2015
In 2012, the Indian Supreme Court ruled that the army could choose between court-martialing the soldiers or allowing them to be prosecuted in civilian courts.
From New York Times ● Jan. 26, 2014
The perils came home again more recently, when sharp comments he made about court-martialing members of the military accused of sexual assault provided ammunition to defense lawyers, who called that improper interference.
From New York Times ● Jul. 16, 2013
“Well,” said I, “you will raise the deuce court-martialing me, when there is only five or six members of the Company who can read or write and they are all on my side.”
From The Indians' Last Fight Or The Dull Knife Raid by Dennis Collins
There had been calls for the removal, even the court-martialling, of the general concerned, but the army had defended the latter and he had been allowed to complete the campaign.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
The rest of the year was uneventful, except for the court-martialling of Lee and his duel with Laurens, who challenged him for his defamation of Washington.
From The Conqueror by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
They've struck the originality all right," he admitted, "but, Lord, the time that will be wasted court-martialling you fellows!
From The Man from the Clouds by J. Storer (Joseph Storer) Clouston
But I say I am ashamed of you to go private court-martialling your own father in that way, and find such fault with him for helping you to get off!”
From Real Gold A Story of Adventure by George Manville Fenn
They have a pretty habit of court-martialling naval officers when they risk their ship unnecessarily.
From A Gunner Aboard the "Yankee" by Russell Doubleday
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.
