probate
Americannoun
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Law. the official proving of a will as authentic or valid in a probate court.
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an officially certified copy of a will so proved.
adjective
verb (used with object)
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to establish the authenticity or validity of (a will).
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Law. to put (an offender) on probation.
noun
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the act or process of officially proving the authenticity and validity of a will
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the official certificate stating a will to be genuine and conferring on the executors power to administer the estate
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the probate copy of a will
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(in the US) all matters within the jurisdiction of a probate court
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(modifier) of, relating to, or concerned with probate
probate value
a probate court
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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probatesimple
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probatessimple
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have probatedperfect
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has probatedperfect
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am probatingprogressive
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are probatingprogressive
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is probatingprogressive
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have been probatingperfect progressive
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has been probatingperfect progressive
Past
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probatedsimple
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had probatedperfect
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was probatingprogressive
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were probatingprogressive
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had been probatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of probate
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English probat, from Latin probātum “a thing approved,” noun use of neuter past participle of probāre “to examine, test”; see prove
Explanation
Probate is the act of proving the legal validity of a will. A will may require probate because the person that signed it isn’t around to verify his or her signature. As Ambrose Bierce wrote, “Death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate.” So comes the need for the probate. Though probate, from the Latin probare, “to test or prove,” is usually used for wills, it can also be applied to other legal documents, as in the proving of the validity of a document, or an official certification proving the document is real. Probate is also a verb meaning “to place a convicted person on probation.”
Vocabulary lists containing probate
To Kill a Mockingbird
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Legal Lingo, List 4
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Moon Over Manifest
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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.
See Examples For:
It is understandable that you have questions about your parents’ guardianship, probate and inheritance, particularly given how excluded you felt.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
It may be that the number of beneficiary designations and transfer-on-death deeds preempted an official probate process.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
Wills go through probate and, as such, are part of the public record.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
MarketWatch examined legal documents filed in state probate court that detailed her family’s battle.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
“The Widow Cane passed away July first and left no heirs. Therefore, her estate is considered in probate, or in holding.”
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
The writer is a lawyer who specializes in wills, trusts, estates and probates.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 25, 2022
The website may also include information regarding probates, trusts and guardianships.
From Encyclopedia.com ● Jun. 12, 2018
The legal work was the basic fare: deeds, wills, taxes, probates, landlord issues, residency.
From Washington Post
Marriage licences and small probates were what we all looked for, and what paid us best; and the competition for these ran very high indeed.
From David Copperfield by Dickens, Charles
A civil court also was assembled this month, by which some writs and some probates of wills were granted.
Once a valid will is discovered, Florida law requires it to be submitted to the probate court, even if it is decades old and/or contradicts how the estate was probated.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 6, 2026
"The estate will actually be probated in accordance with intestate succession laws and the children would be lawfully next in line to inherit," he said.
From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2025
Starr County District Attorney Gocha Ramirez agreed to pay a $1,250 fine and have his license held in a probated suspension for 12 months in a settlement reached with the State Bar of Texas.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 29, 2024
Virgin Islands, where Mr. Epstein’s estate is being probated.
From New York Times ● Mar. 18, 2020
She had promised the store building and the residence property to the mortgagees, effective after the will had been probated.
From The She Boss A Western Story by Hankins, Arthur Preston
Additionally, lawyers are now including trusts in those packages because probating wills is time-consuming, expensive and lacks privacy in many states.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 14, 2026
Those chores can include arranging the funeral, probating the estate, closing accounts, canceling services and dealing with various government agencies, including Social Security and the IRS.
From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2022
The words judicial proceedings relate to the outcome of court actions: damage awards, the probating of wills, divorce decrees, and so forth.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2016
Originally facing 45 felony charges, he later plead guilty to two misdemeanors and was sentenced to probating and community service.
From Forbes ● Dec. 23, 2014
Bates came to report it to me, and to sign the necessary papers in probating the will.
From The House of a Thousand Candles by Nicholson, Meredith
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.
