litigant
Americannoun
adjective
noun
adjective
Usage
What does litigant mean? A litigant is a person engaged in a lawsuit.To litigate is to engage in a legal proceeding, such as a lawsuit. It can mean to bring a lawsuit or to contest one.The word especially refers to what lawyers do in such a proceeding. In fact, another name for a lawyer is litigator, especially a lawyer who specializes in civil cases. Less commonly, litigator can also be used as a synonym for litigant.The process of engaging in a legal proceeding is called litigation. To be in litigation typically means to be engaged in a civil legal proceeding (as opposed to a criminal one, in which one is said to be on trial).Litigant can also be used as an adjective to describe someone engaged in litigation, but this is much less common than its use as a noun.Example: The litigants have agreed to avoid further litigation and settle out of court.
Etymology
Origin of litigant
1630–40; < Latin lītigant- (stem of lītigāns, present participle of lītigāre to go to law), equivalent to līt- (stem of līs ) a lawsuit + -ig- (combining form of agere to carry on) + -ant- -ant
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.
Recent analysis by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory showed that in 80% of cases at least one parent is a litigant in person.
From BBC
Most AI fabrications may not even come to the attention of litigants or judges, especially in state courts.
From Los Angeles Times
Law firms will now try to recruit a class of litigants who lost money on their Super Micro shares to join the federal lawsuit.
From Barron's
“I do believe that the court will, together with the party litigants, fashion a program and process of refund. I don’t know how long it will take.”
He aggressively screened for cases that carried promise for Supreme Court review, then courted the litigants involved, sometimes offering to take their cases for free.
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.
