test case

American  

noun

1. a typical case whose court decision may be interpreted as a precedent for application in future similar cases.

2. 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.

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test case British  

noun

1. a legal action that serves as a precedent in deciding similar succeeding cases

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Etymology

Origin of test case

First recorded in 1890–95

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

test case

Beijing played a central role in Zambia's debt restructuring negotiations, making the country a closely watched test case for how China works with Western governments and multilateral lenders to resolve sovereign debt crises.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

But the Dershowitz lawsuit may have been a less than ideal test case.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

Phoenix is a data-center mecca—and a test case for how to pay for AI’s power needs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026

Breathitt County School District's case was chosen as a test case for more than a thousand US school districts which have pursued claims against social media companies.

From BBC ● May 21, 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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Related Words

• precedent

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