magistrate

American  

[maj-uh-strayt, -strit] / ˈmædʒ əˌstreɪt, -strɪt /

noun

• magistrates
  plural

1. 

   a civil officer charged with the administration of the law.

2. a minor judicial officer, as a justice of the peace or the judge of a police court, having jurisdiction to try minor criminal cases and to conduct preliminary examinations of persons charged with serious crimes.

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magistrate British  

/ ˈmædʒɪˌstreɪt, -strɪt /

noun

1. a public officer concerned with the administration of law

2. another name for justice of the peace

3. the former name for district court judge

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• magistrateship
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• magistrates
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of magistrate

1350–1400; Middle English magistrat < Latin magistrātus magistracy, magistrate, equivalent to magist ( e ) r master + -ātus -ate ³

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Explanation

A magistrate is a person who lays down the law — a judge or other civil authority who conducts a court. Minor offenses are often brought before a magistrate. Magistrate goes back to the Latin magistratus, meaning "administrator." Lawmakers and judges might have a role in making and changing laws; magistrates focus on carrying out the laws on a case-by-case basis. A magistrate doesn't usually make final rulings on murders or high-level cases. He or she might hear cases about things like property damage or traffic violations.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

magistrate magistrates

Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka walked out of Tihar jail hours after a magistrate ordered their release.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

The magistrate judge ordered the four released on personal recognizance and said they were not required to be under supervision.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

On Friday, a magistrate judge told both sides to identify dates in late October to meet for court-ordered settlement talks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

Fifteen months later, a magistrate judge denied Stilwell’s motion, saying he needed to serve the same notice to other anonymous co-conspirators who may have been part of the scam.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

If he really meant that, and really paid her, that would make a nice dent in the money her family had to pay the magistrate.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

Under state law, magistrates are to “impose the least onerous conditions” when deciding bail and should set bail “as low as the court determines is necessary” to assure the defendant returns to court.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

But Thomas warned that plans to keep more middle-ranking cases before magistrates by abolishing defendants' rights to ask for a jury trial could backfire - not least because of a shortage of magistrates.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

This is up from an earlier £25,000 security imposed by magistrates.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

She was given a conditional discharge by magistrates, following the incident which happened before she became an MP.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

For the previous two years, her visits had been stymied by local magistrates and by the repeated bannings that prevented her from traveling.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

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