What does litigate mean?
To litigate is to bring a dispute before a court or pursue it through formal legal proceedings. The verb is especially associated with civil disputes, although it can also refer to legal action in other contexts. Litigating is generally a consequential and costly option, and the decision to litigate often implies that negotiation or settlement has failed or has been rejected. The word can be followed by a case, claim, dispute, or legal issue: one may litigate a contract or litigate against a company. It should not be confused with legislate, which means to make laws, or with negotiate and mediate, which describe alternative ways of resolving disagreements outside formal court proceedings. Because litigate identifies the legal process rather than the result, it conveys procedural seriousness without necessarily expressing a view about the merits of the case.
verbTo bring a legal case or dispute before a court, or to argue a claim through the legal process.
- To bring a legal case before a court.
- To conduct or argue a dispute through legal proceedings.
"The company decided to litigate rather than settle the dispute out of court."
"She chose to litigate the contract dispute after the other party refused to negotiate."
"The case was too complex for the parties to litigate without representation."
To litigate is to put a dispute into the formal language of courts, a word whose roots begin with the Latin word for strife or lawsuit.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does litigate come from?
The English word comes from Latin litigare, meaning “to bring a lawsuit” or “to dispute in court.” That verb is connected with the Latin root lis, genitive litis, meaning “strife, dispute, or lawsuit.” The same root also underlies legal terminology and related forms such as litigant, litigious, and litigation, which reflects the long history of English legal vocabulary drawing on Latin.
Related word forms
How litigate is actually used
Litigate is primarily used in legal and formal contexts. It describes pursuing a claim or dispute through litigation and does not by itself indicate whether the case is likely to succeed.
Easily confused with litigate
To litigate is to pursue a dispute through court proceedings; to litigate is not the same as to negotiate or settle the dispute privately.
To litigate is to conduct legal proceedings, whereas to legislate is to make or amend laws.