kangaroo court

noun

1

: a mock court in which the principles of law and justice are disregarded or perverted

2

: a court characterized by irresponsible, unauthorized, or irregular status or procedures

Did you know?

A kangaroo court has never been a court by or for kangaroos, but beyond that, little is known for sure about the term's origins. Various theories abound: it has been suggested that kangaroo courts got their name because they were initially marked by rapid and unpredictable movement from one place to another, or that they were in some way associated with "jumping" (i.e., illegally occupying) mining claims. These hypotheses are all unsubstantiated, however. What is known is that the first kangaroo courts originated in the United States at approximately the time of the 1849 California Gold Rush, and the word saw its earliest use in the southwestern U.S. It first turned up in print in 1853 in a book about Texas.

Examples of kangaroo court in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Which seems an odd determination from a court of inquiry about the shipboard officers’ council, which was fairly clearly a kangaroo court. —Howard Schneider, National Review, 21 Dec. 2023

Hunter was credited with starting the Orioles’ kangaroo court. —Paul McCardell, Baltimore Sun, 17 Jan. 2024

Bunker said the ordeal felt like a kangaroo court and that the committee had made up their minds before the hearing even began. —Andrea Mew, National Review, 20 Dec. 2023

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson called a parliamentary committee investigating him a kangaroo court. —Max Colchester, WSJ, 9 June 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1841, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

kangaroo court

noun

: a court that uses unfair methods or is not a proper court of law