mistrial

nounC1Common in everyday speech and writing · #7,838 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: mistrials

A mistrial is a trial made invalid by an error or a hung jury. Declare a mistrial, end in a mistrial, move for a mistrial.

It is not an acquittal: after a mistrial the prosecution may start again, since nobody was ever found guilty or innocent. A hung jury, where the jurors cannot reach the required agreement, is the commonest cause.

Definitions of mistrial

1nounmistrialA trial made invalid by an error or a hung jury.C1
“The judge declared a mistrial after a juror was caught discussing the case online.”

mistrial is a trial.

Where it comes from

Anglo-Norman
trial
Middle English
trial
English
trial
English, today
mistrial

Built from

trier · Old French — to pick out, cull

From mis- + trial. trial comes from Middle English trial, from Anglo-Norman trial. From Middle English trial, triall, from Anglo-Norman trial, triel, from trier (“to pick out, cull”) + -al. More at English try.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

mistrial in the wild

On June 12, 2025, an additional rape charge case against Weinstein was given a mistrial.
Harvey Weinstein
Weekley's first trial ended in a mistrial in June 2013.
Killing of Aiyana Jones
On October 10, the second trial ended in another mistrial.
Killing of Aiyana Jones
The trial court declared a mistrial and denied a motion to dismiss the charges of capital murder and first-degree murder on double jeopardy grounds.
Blueford v. Arkansas
Ordinarily, a defendant who requests a mistrial can be forced to stand trial a second time, see United States v.
Oregon v. Kennedy

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the trial family

trial

mistrial — used about once every 2,903 pages · #7,838 · point at the bar for the others

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