Supreme Court

American  

noun

1. the highest court of the U.S.

2. (in many states) the highest court of the state.

3. (lowercase) (in some states) a court of general jurisdiction subordinate to an appeals court.

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Supreme Court British  

noun

1. the highest Federal court, possessing final appellate jurisdiction and exercising supervisory jurisdiction over the lower courts

2. (in many states) the highest state court

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Supreme Court Cultural  

1. A federal court; the highest body in the judicial branch. The Supreme Court is composed of a chief justice and eight associate justices, all of whom are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. They serve on the Court as long as they choose, subject only to impeachment. Each state also has a supreme court; these courts are all courts of appeals, primarily hearing cases that have already been tried. The federal Supreme Court (“the” Supreme Court) has the final word on interpretation of all laws and of the Constitution itself.

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The McCulloch and Roe decisions illustrate the principle of broad construction (interpretation) of the Constitution. The opposite is narrow construction. Those who favor broad construction, or judicial activism, believe that the spirit of the times, the values of the justices, and the needs of the nation may legitimately influence the way justices decide cases. In contrast, narrow constructionists insist that the Court should be bound by the exact words of the Constitution or by the intentions of the framers of the Constitution or by some combination of both. This view is sometimes called judicial restraint.

Supreme Court decisions have a significant impact on public policy and are often extremely controversial. In interpreting the Constitution, the justices of the Supreme Court occasionally have deduced legal doctrines that are not clearly stated (or stated at all) in the Constitution. For example, in the famous case of McCulloch versus Maryland (1819), Chief Justice John Marshall advanced the opinion, accepted by the Court, that the Constitution implicitly gives the federal government the power to establish a national bank, even though such a power is not explicitly granted by the Constitution. Similarly, in Roe versus Wade (1973), the Court ruled that state laws restricting abortion violate the right of privacy.

Example Sentences

Brazilian judicial authorities have declared him a fugitive, and in December the country's supreme court asked the US to extradite him.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

Magyar’s grandfather, Pal Eross, was a judge on the communist-era supreme court and a famous television personality.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

The case was then referred to the supreme court, which announced she would be released on Thursday 22 January.

From BBC • Jan. 23, 2026

But Israel's Kan public broadcaster reported that the supreme court overturned the lower court's decision on Tuesday after an appeal from the families of the deceased children.

From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026

The case was appealed to the California supreme court, where it was overturned on the basis of another probability argument.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos