pretrial

[pree-trahy-uh l, -trahyl]

See more synonyms for pretrial on Thesaurus.com

noun

a proceeding held by a judge, arbitrator, etc., before a trial to simplify the issues of law and fact and stipulate certain matters between the parties, in order to expedite justice and curtail costs at the trial.

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adjective

of or relating to such a proceeding.
done, occurring, etc., prior to a trial: pretrial publicity.

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Origin of pretrial

First recorded in 1935–40; pre- + trial

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for pretrial

Contemporary Examples

He is being held in pretrial detention in Baku and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.
Behind Bars for the Holidays: 11 Political Prisoners We Want to See Free In 2015
Movements.Org
December 25, 2014
Ray Rice, who married Janay Rice on March 28, was accepted into a pretrial intervention program to avoid time behind bars in May.
Fact-Checking the Sunday Shows: Sept 14
PunditFact.com
September 14, 2014
Rice managed to avoid jail time by entering a pretrial diversionary program.
Hey NFL Fans: Ray Rice Isn’t the Problem. You Are.
Steve Almond
July 24, 2014
At present, thousands of businessmen are in pretrial detention in Russia on false charges and at the behest of their competitors.
Ukraine’s Revolutionary Lesson for Russia
David Satter
March 2, 2014
The government and the court would then convert the pretrial conditions as conditional release.
Inside the ‘PayPal 14’ Trial
Alexa O'Brien
December 6, 2013

Word Origin and History for pretrial

n.

"preliminary hearing before a trial," 1938, American English, from pre- + trial.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper