tribunal

American  

[trahy-byoon-l, trih-] / traɪˈbjun l, trɪ- /

noun

• tribunals
  plural

1. a court of justice.

2. a place or seat of judgment.

3. Also called tribune.  a raised platform for the seats of magistrates, as in an ancient Roman basilica.

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tribunal British  

/ traɪˈbjuːnəl, trɪ- /

noun

1. a court of justice or any place where justice is administered

2. (in Britain) a special court, convened by the government to inquire into a specific matter

3. a raised platform containing the seat of a judge or magistrate, originally that in a Roman basilica

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tribunals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tribunal

1520–30; < Latin tribūnal, tribūnāle judgment seat, equivalent to tribūn ( us ) tribune ¹ + -āl ( e ) -al ²

Explanation

A tribunal is like a court. If you've done something wrong and you get caught it's likely you'll be brought before a tribunal, although not all tribunals are there to determine guilt. Say, for example, you'd like to join a secret society. That society might convene a tribunal to determine whether you're worthy of joining. One way to remember tribunal is to focus on the tri at the beginning of the word. A tribunal is there to "try" a case. A tribunal is a group of people who oversee a trial. Your mom and dad could be a tribunal. You could also think of it as the group who oversees their tribe, which is, in fact, where the word comes from.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tribunal tribunals

Thaci has been in custody in The Hague for six years since he voluntarily surrendered in 2020 to the tribunal, known as the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

Lawyers for Rockstar said there was nothing in the signatures that could identify them as union members, but Oram told the tribunal it could be "inferred" who was by those who handed in the petition.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Some 34 workers were believed to have been sacked last year, with 23 taking part in the employment tribunal.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

The tribunal also heard Oram was involved in setting up a Discord server that was used as a forum where around 300 Rockstar employees could discuss the company.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

The case involved Indiana citizens convicted by a military tribunal of conspiring to aid the Confederacy during the war.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

The arm of the Defense Department provides legal counsel for people facing military tribunals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

"International courts and tribunals must be able to freely carry out their mandates," he added.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

Law firms say some tribunals are now being listed for 2030 and the backlog is expected to grow with the Employment Rights Act.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

A lot of that was gassy rambling just to fill the air—it was painful to listen to shows that usually bicker about bad trades and general managers start soberly inveighing like journalism tribunals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

See Administrators, Executor, Heirs, etc.Leipzig book-fair, 11, 13; tribunals, 211.Lend, right to, 46, 48, 49.Lennie v.

From Copyright: Its History and Its Law by Richard Rogers Bowker

Related Words

• board
• committee
• judge
• justice