de minimis
adjective
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Proponents of readable prose over jargon and legalese might argue that the last thing 20th-century American jurisprudence needed was another Latin term. Yet here we have a legal term that entered English only around 1950. Perhaps we should clarify: the legal doctrine of de minimis non curat lex ("the law does not concern itself with trifling matters") has been around for a while, but use of de minimis on its own is relatively recent. At first, the shortened phrase was simply used to refer to the legal doctrine itself ("the de minimis rule"). Then it came to be used more broadly as an adjective ("de minimis contacts with the defendant"). Finally, de minimis leaked out of the courtroom and into the world at large.
Examples of de minimis in a Sentence
Annie Palmer, CNBC, 28 Feb. 2025
More than 90% of all packages coming into the U.S. now enter via de minimis.
—Laura Gottesdiener and Stephen Eisenhammer, USA TODAY, 15 Feb. 2025
The de minimis provision has been around since the 1930s, but the threshold has increased over the years.
—Ramishah Maruf, CNN, 5 Feb. 2025
Trump suspended, then reinstated, the de minimis exemption, which allows exporters to ship packages worth less than $800 into the U.S. duty-free.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for de minimis
Cite this Entry
“De minimis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/de%20minimis. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
de minimis
adjective
Note: An action may be dismissed if the claim or cause is considered de minimis.
New Latin, concerning trifles
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