1
a
: a short news story or graphic accompanying and presenting sidelights of a major story
b
: something incidental : sidelight
a sidebar to the essay's central theme
2
: a conference between the judge, the lawyers, and sometimes the parties to a case that the jury does not hear
Examples of sidebar in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Subramanian then called a sidebar with Combs’ lawyers and told them to get their client to stop nodding.
—
Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 5 June 2025
After a short sidebar between attorneys and the judge, the jury was removed from the courtroom.
—Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 3 June 2025
The sidebar contains a list of apps and a secondary menu with shortcuts.
—PC Magazine, 29 May 2025
The recipes are all kid friendly and include instruction sidebars that guide them throughout the process with helpful step-by-step photos.
—Rachel Flynn, People.com, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for sidebar
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Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 5 June 2025
After a short sidebar between attorneys and the judge, the jury was removed from the courtroom.
—Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 3 June 2025
The sidebar contains a list of apps and a secondary menu with shortcuts.
—PC Magazine, 29 May 2025
The recipes are all kid friendly and include instruction sidebars that guide them throughout the process with helpful step-by-step photos.
—Rachel Flynn, People.com, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for sidebar
Cite this Entry
“Sidebar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sidebar. Accessed 9 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
sidebar
noun
side·bar
ˈsīd-ˌbär 
: sidebar conference
had failed to request a sidebar before injecting the collateral offense into the trial—Dockery v. State, 659 So. 2d 219 (1994)
Dockery v. State, 659 So. 2d 219 (1994)
sidebar
adjective
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