sidebar

noun

side·​bar ˈsīd-ˌbär 

1

a

: a short news story or graphic accompanying and presenting sidelights of a major story

b

: something incidental : sidelight

a sidebar to the essay's central theme

2

: a conference between the judge, the lawyers, and sometimes the parties to a case that the jury does not hear

Examples of sidebar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Nordic series have a prime position in your industry sidebar TV Drama Vision. —Annika Pham, Variety, 7 Jan. 2025

Katzenberg, during an appearance at a sidebar conference organized by industry ad consortium OpenAP, said the move by Mark Zuckerberg would only worsen the slide of social media into a sketchy place, opening the door to competition. —Dade Hayes, Deadline, 7 Jan. 2025

The regular Copilot, whether in the Edge sidebar or a separate app, does this. —Michael Muchmore, PCMAG, 4 Jan. 2025

It was said to be inspired by the fearsome machines that both terrorized and protected soldiers, the vertical sidebars were meant to mimic the treads on the side of the cockpit of a tank. —Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 26 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Legal Definition

sidebar

noun

side·​bar ˈsīd-ˌbär 

: sidebar conference

had failed to request a sidebar before injecting the collateral offense into the trial

—Dockery v. State, 659 So. 2d 219 (1994)

also : the place near or before the bench where a sidebar conference takes place

the judge informed both attorneys…that they…could stand at sidebar while questions were posed

—Commonwealth v. Urena, 632 N.E.2d 1200 (1994)

compare bench, stand

sidebar adjective