out of court
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Not admissible evidence within the terms of reference of the trial being conducted by the Court in question.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “out of court” mean?
Not admissible evidence within the terms of reference of the trial being conducted by the Court in question.
Is “out of court” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.