on trial

idiom

: in a situation in which evidence against one is presented in a court to a judge and often a jury to decide if one is guilty of a crime
on trial for murder
She went on trial for possession of drugs.
sometimes used figuratively to indicate that people will think about something in a critical way
The controversial case has put the entire health care system on trial.

Examples of on trial in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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So, their tactic is to put my husband, the lead investigator, on trial for sending texts on his personal phone to his friends and family. Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 31 Mar. 2025 The big picture: Netanyahu is on trial in three cases of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Barak Ravid, Axios, 21 Mar. 2025 By siding with Trump’s argument that former Presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted for official acts, Roberts’ court delayed legal proceedings that could have put Trump on trial before the 2024 election. Nik Popli, TIME, 19 Mar. 2025 Now, one of the men on trial is purported to be involved with swiping the toilet from Blenheim Palace, while the other two reportedly helped to sell the piece. Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 25 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for on trial

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Cite this Entry

“On trial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on%20trial. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.

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