friend of the court

noun phrase

: amicus curiae

Examples of friend of the court in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Nick Akerman, the lawyer for Common Cause, also asked that his organization be heard as a friend of the court, noting that because the government had agreed with Mr. Adams to dismiss the indictment, no one was representing the public before the judge. — Benjamin Weiser, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025 In addition, the review included friend of the court briefs the state filed to the Supreme Court and Burgum’s financial disclosures and public testimony. — Mary Steurer, ProPublica, 24 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1776, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of friend of the court was in 1776

Rhymes for friend of the court

See All Rhymes for friend of the court

Browse Nearby Words

Friend of God
friend of the court
Friendsgiving
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Friend of the court.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/friend%20of%20the%20court. Accessed 30 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Legal Definition

friend of the court

: amicus curiae
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
burrowing owl athene cunicularia tilts its head outside its burrow on marco island florida
Guess the Curious Origins of These Everyday Words Oh, that’s where that comes from…
See All