probate

American  

[proh-beyt] / ˈproʊ beɪt /

noun

1. Law. the official proving of a will as authentic or valid in a probate court.

2. an officially certified copy of a will so proved.

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adjective

1. of or relating to probate or a probate court.

verb (used with object)

probated, probating

1. to establish the authenticity or validity of (a will).

2. Law. to put (an offender) on probation.

probate British  

/ -beɪt, ˈprəʊbɪt /

noun

1. the act or process of officially proving the authenticity and validity of a will

2. 1. the official certificate stating a will to be genuine and conferring on the executors power to administer the estate

   2. the probate copy of a will

3. (in the US) all matters within the jurisdiction of a probate court

4. (modifier) of, relating to, or concerned with probate

   probate value

   a probate court

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verb

1. (tr) to establish officially the authenticity and validity of (a will)

Other Word Forms

• unprobated
  adjective

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.”

Example Sentences

Probate and will documents show Martin, who died last year, left his money and property to a former Cambridgeshire pub landlady, Jacqueline Wadley, and her husband David.

From BBC • Feb. 18, 2026

“Probate is a court-supervised process of paying debts, closing accounts, and distributing the remaining assets of a person after their death,” says the Georgia Probate Law Group.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 16, 2025

Later, she filed a petition in the Fulton County Probate Court, seeking to remove Vinit’s brother as his guardian and conservator, and requesting that she be appointed the successor.

From Slate • Dec. 8, 2025

But on Thursday, Nevada Probate Commissioner Edmund J. Gorman Jr., largely ruled against the motion, which didn’t even list the Murdochs by name.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 16, 2024

And so he had obtained a Commonwealth of Massachusetts change-of-name form, to submit along with a certified copy of his birth certificate and a check to the Middlesex Probate and Family Court.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri