opening statement

noun

In adversarial legal systems, a statement made by a party at the beginning of a trial or comparable factfinding proceeding, in which that party lays out their case, generally including the points of fact that they intend to demonstrate and to some degree indicating the rhetorical arguments for why they should prevail.

Similar
opening argumentopening speech
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Meanings

nounopening statement (plural opening statements)

plural opening statements

  1. lawIn adversarial legal systems, a statement made by a party at the beginning of a trial or comparable factfinding proceeding, in which that party lays out their case, generally including the points of fact that they intend to demonstrate and to some degree indicating the rhetorical arguments for why they should prevail.

    Synonyms: opening argument, opening speech

Synonyms & antonyms

nounIn adversarial legal systems, a statement made by a party at the beginning of a trial or comparable factfinding proceeding, in which that party lays out their case, generally including the points of fact that they intend to demonstrate and to some degree indicating the rhetorical arguments for why they should prevail.

Similar
opening argumentopening speech
Also see
opening argumentopening speech

Translations

Finnish avauspuheenvuoro
  • avauspuheenvuorostatement
Cite this entry
APA

opening statement. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/opening%20statement

MLA

“opening statement.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/opening%20statement. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “opening statement,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/opening%20statement.

Source: opening statement on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.