Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

voir dire

/ˈvɔɹ ˌdaɪɹ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.59 in modern English

Syllables: voir dire
IPA: /ˈvɔɹ ˌdaɪɹ/

12

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

1

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The preliminary phase of a jury trial in which the jurors are examined and selected.

American usage; Countable; Uncountable

noun

A preliminary hearing without a jury in order to determine whether the evidence meets the test for admissibility to go to a full hearing at a criminal trial, in the legal systems of England and Wales, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States.

Australian usage; New Zealand usage; American usage; Countable; Uncountable

noun

A hearing in the context of a larger trial to determine some specific issue relevant to that trial, such as the admissibility of a piece of evidence or the competency of a witness to testify.

Countable; Uncountable

Etymology

Anglo-Norman for “to say the truth”, from Old French voir (“true, truth”) + dire (“to say”), from Latin vērum + dīcere.

Word Breakdown

Root: *weh₁-

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈvɔɹ ˌdaɪɹ/
British English: /ˈvwɑː ˌdɪə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

voir dires (plural)

Questions

How do you pronounce voir dire?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈvɔɹ ˌdaɪɹ/.
What does voir dire mean?: The preliminary phase of a jury trial in which the jurors are examined and selected.
Where does voir dire come from?: Anglo-Norman for “to say the truth”, from Old French voir (“true, truth”) + dire (“to say”), from Latin vērum + dīcere.

How to pronounce voir dire

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