litigator
AmericanUsage
What does litigator mean? A litigator is a lawyer, especially one who specializes in civil cases.To litigate is to engage in a legal proceeding, such as a lawsuit. It can mean to bring a lawsuit or to contest one. The word especially refers to what litigators do in such a proceeding.Less commonly, litigator can refer to a person engaged in a lawsuit. However, a more common word for this is litigant.The process of engaging in a legal proceeding is called litigation. 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).Example: He was a prominent litigator in the ’80s before he became a prosecutor.
Etymology
Origin of litigator
First recorded in 1900–05; litigate ( def. ) + -or 2 ( def. )
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.
In arguing his case for punitive damages, Kaley's attorney Mark Lanier - a folksy Texas litigator - had shown the jury a jar of M&Ms.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
Patty Glaser, the high-powered entertainment litigator, convened a meeting between the two men.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2026
Yes, replied John P. Coale, a veteran litigator who represented Donald Trump in lawsuits against Meta and other social-media platforms.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 2025
Robert B. McFarlane is a litigator at Moses & Singer.
From Barron's • Nov. 19, 2025
Ted Friedman, the prominent litigator in the 1970s and 1980s, remembers as a child going to concerts with his mother at Carnegie Hall.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
