a court which rules on cases involving the Constitution, federal laws and interstate crimes
2. (in Canada)
a court which rules on cases involving certain areas of federal law, including maritime and intellectual property law
federal court in American English
noun
a court of a federal government, esp. one established under the Constitution of the United States
Word origin
[1780–90, Amer.]This word is first recorded in the period 1780–90. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: alignment, carbon, fluff, oxygen, vampire bat