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- DictionarySum·mons/ˈsəmənz/
noun
- 1. an order to appear before a judge or magistrate, or the writ containing it: "a summons for nonpayment of a parking ticket"
verb
- 1. serve (someone) with a summons: "he has been summonsed to appear in court next month"
1. : to issue a call to convene : convoke. 2. : to command by service of a summons to appear in court. 3. : to call upon for specified action. 4. : to bid to come : send for. summon a physician.
A summons is a request or order for someone to show up, especially for legal matters. You could get a summons to testify at a trial, for example. When you summon someone, you're requesting the person to join you, essentially saying, "Come here!" Similarly, a summons asks for someone to appear.
to call for the presence of, as by command, message, or signal; call. to call or notify to appear at a specified place, especially before a court: to summon a defendant. to authorize or order a gathering of; call together by authority, as for deliberation or action: to summon parliament.
to order someone come to a particular place, or to officially tell someone to be present: The president summoned an emergency meeting of his advisers. I have been summoned to appear in court. To summon is also to find, call, or gather together something for use: I couldn't summon any strength.
to order someone to come to a person or place: The police mobile rapid response unit was summonsed to the scene shortly before 10pm.
Definition of summons noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. summons. noun. /ˈsʌmənz/ (plural summonses. /ˈsʌmənzɪz/ ) ( North American English also citation) an order to appear in court. to issue a summons against somebody. The police have been unable to serve a summons on him.
verb. /ˈsʌmən/ Verb Forms. summon somebody (to do something) (formal) to order someone to appear in court synonym summons He was summoned to appear before the magistrates. Join us. Join our community to access the latest language learning and assessment tips from Oxford University Press!
