lower court
27
3.6
- noun
- /ˈloʊər kɔrt/
- Specialized
:
tribunal de primera instancia
- We decide that the lower court's judgment on this matter was right.
- lower court decision
- lower court ruling
- lower court judge
The higher courts are much more fair than the lower courts.
- The higher courts are much more fair than the lower courts.
- I mean, I am sick because I was one of those stupid optimistic people that thought the courts would hold the line for democracy, and the lower courts have.
- Now there's a Supreme Court ruling saying we are lifting the lower court injunction that stopped the feds from cutting down that wire.
- A judge usually are appointed in the lower courts, which are called peace courts of first instance courts.
- What they really did is they just sent the hard work back to the lower courts.
Examples
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The judge explained that the lower court's ruling could be appealed to a higher authority.
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Therefore, we reverse the lower court's judgment and remand to the lower court for it to be rejudged.
Academic text (2017) -
In a lower court, yes, we'll most likely lose.
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Do we fear the lower courts, which found for us, missed the truth?
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These were harsh words by the lower court.
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The lower court in Istanbul had to go along with the decision.
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Yet there are good reasons to expect the lower courts to be reluctant to accept that invitation.
Academic text (2017) -
The Supreme Court's refusal to hear the case leaves the lower courts' decision standing.
Academic text (1991) -
But we don't think a lot about how those lower courts work, how they happen, what they mean.
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On this basis, the lower court found plaintiffs to be employees entitled to FLSA protection.
Academic text (2017)
Synonyms
A court whose decisions a higher court can review and change
How High
12
3.2
- Specialized
21
7.4
- Specialized
27
3.6
- Specialized
9
3.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a court of lesser authority relative to a higher court' is directly derived from combining 'lower' (positioned below in rank or status) with 'court' (a judicial forum). This compositional sense is predictable and found across many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Lower court comes from the image of courts on different levels, like floors in a building, where the lower court sits below a higher court. That's why a lower court is a court whose decisions can be 'reviewed' or 'changed' by a higher court.