justice of the peace

noun phrase

Synonyms of justice of the peacenext
: a local magistrate empowered chiefly to administer summary justice in minor cases, to commit for trial, and to administer oaths and perform marriages

Examples of justice of the peace in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The session with the justice of the peace wasn’t until the next afternoon. — Andrew Martin, New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2025 The rules require, too, that bail hearing before a judge or justice of the peace be held promptly. — Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 14 Dec. 2025 Their wedding ceremony was to be a very private stand-up event with a justice of the peace, and then off to the first day of class. — Literary Hub, 11 Mar. 2026 The race has become mired in legal questions that Curry, the incumbent, said could disrupt the office responsible for serving legal papers and acting as bailiffs in justice of the peace courts. — Tracey McManus, Dallas Morning News, 29 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for justice of the peace

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of justice of the peace was in the 15th century

Rhymes for justice of the peace

See All Rhymes for justice of the peace

Browse Nearby Words

justice is served/done
justice of the peace
justicer
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Justice of the peace.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/justice%20of%20the%20peace. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

justice of the peace

: a local official having the authority to try minor cases, to administer oaths, and to perform marriages

Legal Definition

justice of the peace

: a local judicial official who is empowered chiefly to administer oaths, perform marriage ceremonies, certify documents, and in some states may have additional judicial powers (as to issue summonses)

More from Merriam-Webster on justice of the peace

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for justice of the peace

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about justice of the peace

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All