subpoena
Americannoun
-
subpoenas
plural
verb (used with object)
-
subpoenas,
present (3rd person singular)
-
subpoenaed,
past participle, past
-
subpoenaing
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
subpoenasimple
-
subpoenassimple
-
have subpoenaedperfect
-
has subpoenaedperfect
-
am subpoenaingprogressive
-
are subpoenaingprogressive
-
is subpoenaingprogressive
-
have been subpoenaingperfect progressive
-
has been subpoenaingperfect progressive
Past
-
subpoenaedsimple
-
had subpoenaedperfect
-
was subpoenaingprogressive
-
were subpoenaingprogressive
-
had been subpoenaingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of subpoena
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin sub poenā “under penalty” (the first words of the writ)
Explanation
A subpoena is a document that requires its recipient to appear in court as a witness. If you receive a subpoena, it doesn't mean you've done anything wrong; it just means you may have information that's needed by the court. Subpoena can also be a verb: You can subpoena someone by giving them a subpoena. If you receive a subpoena but fail to carry out its instructions, you're in big trouble. This fact is suggested by the Latin roots of this word: the prefix sub- means "under" and poena means "penalty." One nice thing about a subpoena is that it's not a summons; if you get one of those, it means you're being sued.
Vocabulary lists containing subpoena
Latin Root "sub" Words
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To Kill a Mockingbird
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Just Mercy
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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:
The move comes as JPMorgan faces scrutiny and a Justice Department subpoena over allegations of improperly closing customer accounts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
When Mathipa was assigned to the case a month later, he issued a subpoena to special forces to force them to hand over full details of this alleged training exercise and all the personnel involved.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
The federal government withdrew its original subpoena and responded with a grand jury subpoena requesting roughly an additional month of social-media activity, dating back to December 2025.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
The judge then asked why prosecutors requested that the subpoena for phone records remain confidential.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
One of the deputies checked my subpoena and let me and Grampa in.
From "Mississippi Trial, 1955" by Chris Crowe
After receiving federal grand jury subpoenas in February, Delaware Life and Clear Spring Life and Annuity conducted internal investigations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
The filing asks the court to allow the subpoenas to be served by email and certified mail, saying attempts to serve them by hand were unsuccessful.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
At the end of July, the Justice Department withdrew subpoenas issued to New York Times journalists who had written articles about the security of Trump's presidential aircraft.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
Then the administration filed a flurry of subpoenas against them.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
Though the subpoenas had finally stopped coming, Deborah didn’t believe the lawsuit was truly over.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
In Stearns County in central Minnesota, HSI agents subpoenaed voting histories on 13 people, county officials told ProPublica.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
Paul, who chairs the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, had subpoenaed the now-retired Fauci to testify, and prior to the hearing released thousands of pages of the immunologist's unredacted personal diary.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
The Washington Post reported last month that one of its journalists was subpoenaed related to “sensitive reporting about a national security matter” and that the subpoena was later withdrawn.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Last year, the commission subpoenaed the Sheriff’s Department for unredacted records associated with each of the cases.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
You subpoenaed documents and took depositions and pored over court records until you had put together a detailed and precise accounting of each stage in the deadly quarrel.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
After subpoenaing records on about 130 people, only one had been referred for prosecution, his staff had told him.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
Critics said profit had become more important than the supporter experience, with the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey subpoenaing Fifa to answer questions about its ticketing practices.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Then they got over 100,000 pages more after subpoenaing federal prosecutors themselves in January.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 24, 2024
If they believe there is a potential case to be made, they could also start subpoenaing bank records, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2024
The German had swung around toward the men behind him, as though he were subpoenaing them as witnesses.
From Captain Macklin by Richard Harding Davis
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.
