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out-of-court

American  
[out-uhv-kawrt, -kohrt] / ˈaʊt əvˈkɔrt, -ˈkoʊrt /

adjective

  1. conducted or agreed upon between contending parties without court decision.

    an out-of-court settlement of a lawsuit.


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.

A subsequent petition by the Utah regulator to assume control of the A-CAP insurers in its jurisdiction was dismissed following out-of-court mediation.

From Barron's • Mar. 4, 2026

Hourly rates for bankruptcy lawyers are topping $3,000, contributing to soaring chapter 11 costs that have prompted more companies to turn to faster out-of-court restructurings.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 30, 2025

As those agreements have been made out-of-court, no details of any public money to be paid out by the public bodies - BTP and GMP - will be made public.

From BBC • Dec. 18, 2025

It showed 365 people were referred for out-of-court parenting support by police staff between April 2022 and March 2025, instead of facing prosecution.

From BBC • Dec. 18, 2025

Alabama’s statute at the time limited what court-appointed lawyers could be paid for their out-of-court preparation time to $1,000, so the lawyer spent almost no time on the case.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson