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.
That scale has made Rotterdam a test case for a difficult question: can a port built on fossil fuels ever truly become green?
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
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
He said he didn’t set out to create a legal test case but he wasn’t the kind of person to just pay the fine quietly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
As we have seen, Hellenistic science, the science of Archimedes, provides an interesting test case.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
