Showing results for "summons"

• present tense form of summon (3rd person singular).

summons

American  

[suhm-uhnz] / ˈsʌm ənz /

noun

• summonses
  plural

1. an authoritative command, message, or signal by which one is summoned.

2. a request, demand, or call to do something.

   a summons to surrender.

3. Law.

   1. a call or citation by authority to appear before a court or a judicial officer.

   2. the writ by which the call is made.

4. an authoritative call or notice to appear at a specified place, as for a particular purpose or duty.

5. a call issued for the meeting of an assembly or parliament.

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verb (used with object)

• summonses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• summonsed,
  past participle,  past
• summonsing
  present participle

1. to serve with a summons; summon.

summons British  

/ ˈsʌmənz /

noun

1. a call, signal, or order to do something, esp to appear in person or attend at a specified place or time

2. 1. an official order requiring a person to attend court, either to answer a charge or to give evidence

   2. the writ making such an order Compare warrant

3. a call or command given to the members of an assembly to convene a meeting

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verb

1. to take out a summons against (a person)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonsummons
  noun
• resummons
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• summonses
  plural

Participles

• summonsing
  present
• summonsed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• summons
  simple
• summonses
  simple
• have summonsed
  perfect
• has summonsed
  perfect
• am summonsing
  progressive
• are summonsing
  progressive
• is summonsing
  progressive
• have been summonsing
  perfect progressive
• has been summonsing
  perfect progressive

Past

• summonsed
  simple
• had summonsed
  perfect
• was summonsing
  progressive
• were summonsing
  progressive
• had been summonsing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will summons
  simple
• will have summonsed
  perfect
• will be summonsing
  progressive
• will have been summonsing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of summons

1250–1300; Middle English somons < Anglo-French; Old French somonse < Vulgar Latin *summonsa, for Latin summonita, feminine past participle of summonēre; see summon

Explanation

A summons is a request or order for someone to show up, especially for legal matters. You could get a summons to testify at a trial, for example. When you summon someone, you're requesting the person to join you, essentially saying, "Come here!" Similarly, a summons asks for someone to appear. This could be a friendly request or invitation, like a summons to join some friends for a road trip, but the most common type of summons is official and legally binding. If you receive a summons to appear in court, you have to show up. Ignoring that kind of summons is a crime.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

summons summonses summonsed summonsing

The US House of Representatives has agreed to hold billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress for defying legal summons related to its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Others have received a summons for an interview in April next year.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

The following day, police sergeant Sidney Short served him with a summons.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

A Salvadoran woman who had lived in the U.S. since the 1980s held a summons for an immigration hearing while commenting that Navarette looked better than she had in a while.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Then I can't think of anything else, so we sit in silence until a Peacemaker summons him.

From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

The Justice Department letter said the French had asked for U.S. assistance three times this year, including for serving summonses on X officials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026

The summonses were issued "as part of the application of administrative sanctions in accordance with the applicable provisions", the minister added.

From Barron's ● Mar. 31, 2026

Last month, former US President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary were among high-profile figures to be sent legal summonses from a congressional committee investigating the late sex offender.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2025

At Yale, the police placed protesters’ wrists into zip ties on Monday morning and escorted them onto campus shuttles to receive summonses for trespassing.

From New York Times ● Apr. 22, 2024

These were the summonses that you answered with your left foot forward, your right foot back, your hands guarding your face, one slightly lower than the other, cocked like a hammer.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

“There should never have been an arrest warrant, because normally she would receive a summons in the mail. In many cases, people who are charged with nonviolent offenses like this are summonsed into court.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2024

Many of those arrested earlier in the week had been summonsed for Russian military service, state media reported.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 24, 2022

Suspects are either charged directly by the police, or they are "summonsed" to be formally charged in court, after prosecution lawyers have analysed a file which police have compiled.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2022

He posted the following on Twitter after being summonsed:

From Time ● Oct. 14, 2016

"Well," said he at length, "I done summonsed you."

From The Broken Gate A Novel by Emerson Hough

Old-fashioned landladies might refuse her lunch, it is true; and a narrowminded police force might desire to secure her, and wrap her in a rug preliminary to summonsing her. 

From Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome

With a terrible love of summonsing, and a thorough enjoyment of a law-court, he enters into the spirit of the thing like an attorney's clerk.

From To The Gold Coast for Gold, Vol. II A Personal Narrative by Sir Richard Francis Burton

Related Words

• indictment
• subpoena
• warrant
• writ