test case
Americannoun
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a typical case whose court decision may be interpreted as a precedent for application in future similar cases.
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a legal action taken, sometimes deliberately by agreement of both parties, with a special view to determining the position of the law on some matter, as the constitutionality of a statute.
noun
Etymology
Origin of test case
First recorded in 1890–95
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.
Therefore industrial players are a good real world test case for the implementation of AI.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
But the Dershowitz lawsuit may have been a less than ideal test case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
How they reacted and how they coped has become a test case for disaster planners internationally, as officials look for advice on responding to a mass hospital hack.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
The tiny nation is a test case for countries seeking AI investment without risking outages or higher bills for citizens.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
An interesting test case is provided by the revolutionary developments in art that took place in Florence early in the fifteenth century.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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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.