English Reference
Noun

barrister

n. countable
C1 Advanced US /ˈbæɹɪstɝ/ UK /bˈæɹɪstɐ/ bar·ris·ter UK spelling barristers

n.a lawyer who speaks in court and gives legal advice. In some countries, you must be a barrister to argue a case before a judge.

n.a legal professional qualified to plead cases in higher courts and provide specialist legal opinions. Distinct from solicitors in jurisdictions with a divided legal profession.


SIMPLE

The barrister argued the case clearly.

CONTEXTUAL

She hired a barrister to represent her in the high court trial.

COMPLEX

The senior barrister delivered a compelling closing argument that swayed the jury toward acquittal.

During a two-day hearing at the High Court earlier this week, barristers for the MoJ said the Parole Board had failed to assess Razzell's risk properly and called for the decision to be reversed.

BBC News· 14 Aug 2026

The barrister told the High Court that the judge was wrong in ruling that Mr Flanagan could carry out whatever level of testing deemed necessary by his expert.

BreakingNews.ie· 14 Aug 2026

From bar (a collective term for lawyers or the legal profession) and the suffix -ster.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Frequent
Updated