ˈlid.əˌgāt, ˈlitə-, usu -ād.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin litigatus, past participle of litigare, from lit-, lis lawsuit (from Old Latin stlit-, stlis ) + -igare (from agere to drive, lead, act, do); perhaps akin to Greek stellein to set up — more at stall , agent
intransitive verb
: to carry on a legal contest by judicial process
only states can litigate before this court — R.H.Heindel
the great litigating public — Geoffrey Lincoln
transitive verb
1. archaic : to enter into controversy over
the point indeed has been much litigated — Horace Walpole
2. : to make the subject of a lawsuit : contest in law : prosecute or defend by pleadings, evidence, and debate in a court
the restraining order is being litigated — H.J.Ruttenberg
litigate the validity of a state statute — Harvard Law Review