Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use subpoena in a sentence

15 example sentences · noun, verb

Subpoena means a writ (“written order”) requiring someone to appear in court, or at a deposition or some other legal proceeding, as a witness to give testimony (a subpoena ad testificandum) or to produce evidence (subpoena duces tecum), in default of which the person may be punished. Example: “The subpoena required that the company document their communication with the plaintiff.”

Examples of subpoena by meaning

nounA writ (“written order”) requiring someone to appear in court, or at a deposition or some other legal proceeding, as a...

  • "Droning people with subpoenas all over the globe."2016 October 26, David Moye, “Trevor Noah: If Trump is Elected, He’ll Wage ‘Warsuits’”, in Huffington Post, New York, N.Y.: Verizon Media
  • I hereby request that the committee hold the subpoena in abeyance and delay any vote on whether to recommend a citation of contempt for noncompliance with the subpoena, pending the president's determination of this question.2019 May 7, Nicholas Fandos, Charlie Savage, Catie Edmondson; Maggie Haberman, quoting Stephen Elliott Boyd, “Justice Dept. threatens House...

verbTo require (a document or other evidence) to be produced before a court, or at a deposition or some other legal...

  • In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, the department accused Democrats of being unreasonable in subpoenaing that material.2019 May 7, Nicholas Fandos, Charlie Savage, Catie Edmondson, Maggie Haberman, “Justice Dept. threatens House Democrats over contempt in...

More sentences with subpoena

  • The subpoena required that the company document their communication with the plaintiff.From the entry communication
  • The senatorial investigation involved subpoenas and testimony before Congress and, of course, went nowhere.From the entry senatorial
  • Should the decision of Judge Kaplan be upheld and a subpoena be served for Mr.2010 May 7, Dave Itzkoff, quoting Michael Moore, “Michael Moore Says Judge's Ruling Could Have ‘Chilling Effect’ on Documentaries”, in New…. From the entry chilling effect
  • If he actually files and subpoenas though, the information is really easy to compel in many cases.2003 November 2, Chas, “Seriously considering filing lawsuit.....not a joke.”, in misc.legal (Usenet). From the entry detective
  • I purchased a Monterey Herald, reporting the withcalling of the subpoenas, and same is hereto attached.1930, Carlos S. Hardy, The Senate of the State of California, page 557. From the entry withcalling
  • “Droning people with subpoenas all over the globe.”2016, David Moye, “Trevor Noah: If Trump Is Elected, He’ll Wage ‘Warsuits’”, in Huffington Post. From the entry drone
  • A warrant canary is a defense against the gag orders that come with National Security Letters and other secret subpoenas.2014 July 25, Jacob Long, “Exclusive: Private Internet Access talks warrants, canaries, transparency”, in Geeksided, archived from the…. From the entry warrant canary
  • If you disregard Suit-Boy, you will be sent a subpoena.2012, Augusto Vieira, How to Build a New Government: A Guide for the Coming Revolution, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 15. From the entry disregard
  • But he says the company is dragging its feet and threatened to use his subpoena power to get them moving.2011 July 2, Deena Winter, “AG to Google: Clean up YouTube”, in Nebraska Watchdog, archived from the original on 05 Mar 2016. From the entry slowball
  • Why not subpoena as well the clerical proficients?1924, Herman Melville, chapter 10, in Billy Budd, London: Constable & Co.. From the entry proficient
  • Democrats in Congress can go to the courts to have their subpoenas enforced, although Balkin said that is not an ideal path.2019 May 8, Zachary B. Wolf, “How to know when it’s a constitutional crisis”, in CNN. From the entry yale
  • The company, based in Boston and the third-largest securitizer of student loans, received a subpoena on Aug. 22, according to a statement yesterday on its Web site.2007 September 1, Bloomberg News, “Firm Is Issued Subpoena in Inquiry on Student Loans”, in New York Times. From the entry securitizer

Meaning of subpoena

  1. noun A writ (“written order”) requiring someone to appear in court, or at a deposition or some other legal proceeding, as a witness to give testimony (a subpoena ad testificandum) or to produce evidence (subpoena duces tecum), in default of which the person may be punished.
  2. noun A writ requiring a defendant to appear in court to answer a plaintiff's claim (a subpoena ad respondendum); in England and Wales, and Ireland, this writ was formerly issued by the Court of Chancery at the plaintiff's request to commence a suit, but the procedure was abolished in 1852.
  3. noun A motive or thing which can compel or demand something, or summon someone.

Full definition of subpoena

Questions about subpoena in a sentence

How do you use subpoena in a sentence?
Subpoena is used as a noun and verb. For example: “The subpoena required that the company document their communication with the plaintiff.”
What is a short sentence with subpoena?
“"Droning people with subpoenas all over the globe."”
What does subpoena mean?
Subpoena means a writ (“written order”) requiring someone to appear in court, or at a deposition or some other legal proceeding, as a witness to give testimony (a subpoena ad testificandum) or to produce evidence (subpoena duces tecum), in default of which the person may be punished.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: subpoena (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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