disbar
Americanverb (used with object)
-
disbars,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disbarred,
past participle, past
-
disbarring
present participle
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
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disbarsimple
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disbarssimple
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have disbarredperfect
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has disbarredperfect
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am disbarringprogressive
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are disbarringprogressive
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is disbarringprogressive
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have been disbarringperfect progressive
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has been disbarringperfect progressive
Past
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disbarredsimple
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had disbarredperfect
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was disbarringprogressive
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were disbarringprogressive
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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.
See Examples For:
“His unethical actions have had real, lasting consequences for our democracy, and we applaud the California Supreme Court’s decision to disbar him.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026
While no further proceedings occurred in New York to permanently disbar Giuliani, the D.C.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2024
Maryland’s highest court unanimously voted to disbar Cassilly in 2021.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 5, 2023
“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 disbar that man if it's the last act of my life!"
From The Gray Dawn by Stewart Edward White
Capitol also are among those “indicted, prosecuted, disbarred and/or jailed,” Kimball wrote.
From MarketWatch ● May 18, 2026
He has since been disbarred in New York and Washington.
From Barron's ● May 3, 2026
If found culpable, he could be suspended from the practice of law or disbarred in D.C.
From Slate ● Mar. 11, 2026
Criminal lawyer Anu Mohindru was disbarred by the Barristers' Tribunal Service when it determined he fabricated his CV while applying for a senior job.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2025
They’d have him disbarred; Bud Gleason would no doubt see that Hirsshorn foreclosed on his house.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
These associations are used to disbarring people who, say, defrauded their clients or were utterly incompetent in court over and over again, et cetera.
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2025
Officials at the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England would explore introducing a disbarring service, he said, something previously seen as unnecessary following reviews of NHS management.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2023
Siarhej Zikratski, a lawyer for Znak, lost his license in March after appearing before a panel established by the justice ministry to vet aspiring lawyers that can rule on disbarring existing ones.
From Reuters ● Aug. 23, 2021
But she could also go further — assessing additional monetary penalties or recommending grievance proceedings be opened that could result in banning the attorneys from practicing in Michigan or disbarring them altogether.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 12, 2021
Besides, there had been talk of disbarring him from the practice of his profession, and I, as a lawyer, had been urged to instigate that proceeding.
From The Boss of Little Arcady by Harry Leon Wilson
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.
