litigation
Americannoun
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the act or process of bringing or contesting a legal action in court
-
a judicial proceeding or contest
Usage
What does litigation mean? Litigation is the process of engaging in a legal proceeding, such as a lawsuit.The word litigation can also mean a lawsuit.To be in litigation typically means to be engaged in a civil legal proceeding (as opposed to a criminal one, in which one is said to be on trial). The verb litigate means engage in a legal proceeding. It can mean to bring a lawsuit or to contest one. A litigator is a lawyer, especially one who specializes in civil cases. A litigant is a person engaged in a lawsuit.Example: Their goal is to avoid litigation, so they’re going to try to get you to settle out of court.
Other Word Forms
- nonlitigation noun
- prelitigation noun
- relitigation noun
Etymology
Origin of litigation
First recorded in 1560–70; from Late Latin lītigātiōn-, stem of lītigātiō “a dispute”; equivalent to litigate + -ion
Compare meaning
How does litigation compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
The deer have “provided a really great hunting opportunity in an area of Southern California where there’s not a lot of big game hunting opportunities,” said Regina Lennox, senior litigation counsel for Safari Club.
From Los Angeles Times
"But at the same time, if the same organization threatens us of litigation, we are put in a very difficult situation."
From Barron's
That information, consisting of communications and documentation between Credit Suisse and its lawyers has “not been provided because the Simon Wiesenthal Center and others have threatened litigation over this matter,” Karofsky said.
One underappreciated consequence of the U.S. exit from international organizations is the potential of litigation in U.S. courts.
In a separate case brought by billionaire Ken Griffin in 2022, a federal judge let that argument proceed through early stages of litigation.
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.
