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Definition of "court-martial" [court•-mar•tial]

  • A military or naval court of officers appointed by a commander to try persons for offenses under military law. (noun)
  • A trial by such a military tribunal. (noun)
  • To try by military tribunal. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "court-martial" in a sentence
  • "Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs was back in court for a reopened Article 32 hearing, a military justice proceeding roughly equivalent to a grand jury session that determines whether a case gets referred to court-martial for trial."
  • "Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs was back in court for the reopening of his so-called Article 32 hearing, a proceeding to hear evidence roughly equivalent to a grand jury session that determines whether case gets referred to court-martial for trial."
  • "Many members of the unit are among the 28 witnesses scheduled to testify in the court-martial, which is expected to last into next week."