disbar
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Usage
Disbar is sometimes wrongly used where debar is meant: he was debarred (not disbarred ) from attending meetings
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disbarsimple
-
disbarssimple
-
have disbarredperfect
-
has disbarredperfect
-
am disbarringprogressive
-
are disbarringprogressive
-
is disbarringprogressive
-
have been disbarringperfect progressive
-
has been disbarringperfect progressive
Past
-
disbarredsimple
-
had disbarredperfect
-
was disbarringprogressive
-
were disbarringprogressive
-
had been disbarringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disbar
Explanation
To disbar is to officially take away a lawyer’s license to practice law. If a practicing lawyer gets caught doing something illegal or crazy, it’s time to disbar. “The bar” is the exam that lawyers-to-be must pass after law school so they can practice law. The word bar comes from the wooden bar that surrounds the judge, where the barrister (lawyer) states a case. If you're disbarred, you can no longer practice. A lawyer found guilty of a crime or any other unethical behavior could be disbarred. Getting disbarred is a serious matter — you can tell because it happens to lawyers on TV shows all the time.
Vocabulary lists containing disbar
Just Mercy
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One of Us Is Lying
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This Week In Words: Current Events Vocab for January 9–15, 2021
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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.
That is why the report and recommendation to disbar Giuliani matters.
From Salon • Jul. 11, 2023
Maryland’s highest court unanimously voted to disbar Cassilly in 2021.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 5, 2023
The State Bar filed disciplinary charges against Yeghiayan and made an unsuccessful attempt to disbar his wife.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2022
“The plan was to disbar me so I wouldn’t be relevant, and that by and large happened,” he says.
From The Verge • Mar. 10, 2022
"I'll then go on record as asking you to disbar yourself from this hearing on the grounds that you are not an impartial judge of the justice in my case."
From The Fourth R by Smith, George Oliver
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.
