minitrial

M3I1N1I1T1R1I1A1L1

noun

A short or minor legal trial.

Scrabble 11
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Meanings

nounminitrial (plural minitrials)

plural minitrials

  1. A short or minor legal trial.

    Under the federal death penalty law, if a jury finds a defendant guilty, a second minitrial is held to determine whether that defendant will face execution or life in prison without parole.

    2007 January 26, William K. Rashbaum, “Judge Urges U.S. to Drop Plan to Seek Death Penalty in Case”, in New York Times

Origin

From mini- + trial.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

minitrial. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/minitrial

MLA

“minitrial.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/minitrial. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “minitrial,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/minitrial.

Source: minitrial on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.