WorldAugust 31, 2026

cert

SERT

Definition

A common legal abbreviation for 'certiorari', referring to an order by a higher court to review a decision made by a lower court.

Etymology

Derived from the Latin 'certiorari', which means 'to be more fully informed.' It transitioned into English legal terminology to describe the formal process of a superior court requesting the record of a lower court case for review.

In the news

In this article, the author uses 'cert' to describe the Supreme Court's process of choosing to hear specific cases or petitions, highlighting how Alito's participation in these decisions often coincides with his personal financial interests.

Sam Alito Delayed Financials Reveal Still Betting Big On Oil Companies As He Hears Climate Change Case

Read the full article ↗

Above the Law

Related words

anthropocentric

Interpreting or regarding the world exclusively in terms of human values and experiences.

World

deadnamed

To refer to a transgender person by the name they were assigned at birth, rather than the…

World

hellhole

A place or situation characterized by extreme unpleasantness, disorder, or intolerable…

World

hyperinflation

A period of extremely rapid and out-of-control price increases that renders a country's…

World

inadvertence

The state of being unintentional or failing to pay enough attention, used here to…

World

institutionalizes

To establish something as a standard, accepted, and formal practice or part of an…

World

Learn words like this every day

Meet new words every morning.

Newspoken pulls carefully chosen words from the day’s news — with clear definitions, context, and light review that makes them stick. Get it on your phone.