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.
a trial by such a court.
a conviction by such a court.
He lost his privileges because of his court-martial.
a session of such a court.
He attended the court-martial this morning.
First recorded in 1565–75; earlier martial court
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."
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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
When retired servicemembers come back to face court-martial proceedings, it’s usually related to allegations from their time in active duty, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 24, 2025
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
“When Stuart comes back, if he does come back—which he will eventually, if only just to read the Richmond newspapers—you ought to court-martial him.”
From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara
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
Besigye has objected to being tried by a court martial, saying that if there were any charges against him, he should be tried in a civilian court.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2024
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
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 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
But the list of court-martials held during the second quarter of the eighteenth century on British captains for beginning to fight too late, or for leaving off too soon, would, if published, astonish this generation.
From Deeds that Won the Empire Historic Battle Scenes by Fitchett, W. H. (William Henry)
But they are the ones who will face courts-martial and federal indictments if they cross the line.
From Slate ● Dec. 3, 2025
VanLandingham said one of the most significant changes in December was Congress' decision to require that courts-martial jurors — known as panel members — be selected at random, like a civilian jury.
From Salon ● Feb. 14, 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
The administration established a new organization to run the trials — the Office of Military Commissions, which created a court system whose rules are a hybrid of military courts-martial and federal civilian courts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2021
Indeed, the great Snell practised a little stratagem against Mr. Shelley, for which, if writing-masters held courts-martial, this hero ought to have appeared before his brothers.
From Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 3 by Disraeli, Isaac
Because Mauldin himself was a soldier, Patton could have him court-martialed and put in jail.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026
As a result Robinson was court-martialed but later acquitted, then served as a coach for Army athletics until receiving an honorable discharge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2025
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
He wasn’t court-martialed, but he was stripped of his rank and confined to the base for six months.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
"If it was someone else, they would have been court-martialled."
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2022
Frémont’s fate was ironic: having accepted the primacy of the Navy, he refused to take orders from the Army general who arrived later, and he was court-martialled on his return to D.C.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 20, 2020
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
Although the Swedes are routed, the prince is court-martialled for disobeying orders and sentenced to death.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 27, 2010
Changed "court-martialled" to "court-martialed" on page 245: "court-martialed by Division court."
From An Artilleryman's Diary by Jones, Jenkins Lloyd
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
Pentagon officials initially dismissed the idea of court-martialing Sergeant Bergdahl, saying five years in captivity was punishment enough.
From New York Times ● Jun. 3, 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 Collins, Dennis
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
They have a pretty habit of court-martialling naval officers when they risk their ship unnecessarily.
From A Gunner Aboard the "Yankee" by Doubleday, Russell
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 Atherton, Gertrude Franklin Horn
There would probably be some court-martialling of their patrols.
From The Seventeenth Highland Light Infantry (Glasgow Chamber of Commerce Battalion) Record of War Service, 1914-1918 by Arthur, John W.
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 Clouston, J. Storer (Joseph Storer)
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.
