petition

1 of 2

noun

pe·​ti·​tion pə-ˈti-shən How to pronounce petition (audio)
plural petitions
1
a
: a formal written request made to an authority or organized body (such as a court)
filing a petition for divorce
Her defense lawyer had petitioned the court to videotape Scott's testimony about Hearst before he died, but the petition was denied.Robert Lipsyte
b
: a written request or call for change signed by many people in support of a shared cause or concern
Hundreds of contributors and readers signed a petition circulated by the National Book Critics Circle, urging the Post to save the stand-alone section.Motoko Rich
Her group put together a petition signed by more than 100,000 consumers demanding that regulators crack down on companies who "robocall" consumers using automated dialers and recorded voices to market scams.Shawn Zeller
2
: an earnest request : entreaty
… he begged to sleep with Hareton, and his petition was granted for once.Emily Brontë
3
: something asked or requested
petitionary adjective

petition

2 of 2

verb

petitioned; petitioning pə-ˈti-sh(ə-)niŋ How to pronounce petition (audio) ; petitions
1
transitive : to make a request to (someone)
especially : to make a formal written request to (an authority)
His people petitioned the government for permission to use the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Taylor Branch
… to adopt "red-flag" laws, which allow police officers and family members to petition a court to bar dangerous individuals from possessing guns. Norman J. Ornstein
2
intransitive : to make a request
She neither petitioned for her right nor claimed it.George Meredith
especially : to make a formal written request
A year later he moved to Rome and petitioned to join the Jesuits, who gave him a university education and ordained him in 1586. Brian Vickers

Examples of petition in a Sentence

Noun They collected 2,000 signatures on a petition demanding that women be allowed to join the club. Would you like to sign our petition? We presented a petition to the legislature to change the law. She filed a petition for divorce. We ask you to hear our petition. Verb The organization petitioned the government to investigate the issue. All people had the right to petition the king for help. She petitioned to join their club.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Fitzpatrick said if party leaders give his petition their blessing, a wave of signatures would build in short order. Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 21 Mar. 2024 In 2018, the foundation started a petition process that allowed American publishers to submit works by noncitizens. Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Mar. 2024 These candidates and parties still have time though: Many states' deadlines for submitting petition signatures or registering voters to qualify aren't until this summer. Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 21 Mar. 2024 Grande's petition cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 20 Mar. 2024 Like the vast majority of California divorces, Grande’s petition cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2024 Haggerty said one of her chief concerns is finding out who hired the petition circulator who forged her signature. Journal Sentinel, 19 Mar. 2024 The candidate could get each resident to sign both petitions, but there's a caveat. Taylor Seely, The Arizona Republic, 19 Mar. 2024 More than 30% of Hyundai workers in Montgomery, Alabama and Mercedes employees in the nearby city of Vance have signed union cards in recent weeks — a sign that petitions to hold union votes at those plants could be filed soon, too. Laura Bratton, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024
Verb
Sweden petitioned to join NATO nearly two years ago with Finland, but while the latter quickly gained NATO membership, Hungary and Turkey opposed Sweden’s admission. Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 25 Mar. 2024 An Olathe Northwest High School student’s attempt to start a Satan club has ignited a firestorm in Johnson County, with parents and students petitioning to stop it. Sarah Ritter, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024 So in 2022, a lawyer representing the nursing home petitioned Kosciusko Superior Court to assign a personal representative, a lawyer and professional guardian Stacy McGuyre, to replace Weyand to control the estate. Binghui Huang, The Indianapolis Star, 21 Mar. 2024 Prosecutors then petitioned the Sixth District court, which issued a stay to prevent Deen’s ruling from being enforced pending its review. Robert Salonga, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024 This month, several wildlife conservation groups petitioned the California Fish and Game Commission to list these owls as endangered or threatened under the California Endangered Species Act. Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024 Attorneys petitioning for disciplinary revocation usually plan on leaving the profession anyway or expect to be disbarred, so just want to save the time and expense of going through the discipline case. David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024 After 40% of the native population, about 17,000 plants, died mysteriously in the summer of 2020, environmentalists petitioned for its inclusion as an endangered species. Danielle Chemtob, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024 Mere minutes later, after play continued and Auburn guard Aden Holloway appeared to step out of bounds trying to save an errant ball, Gates was jumping up and down on the sideline while petitioning with an official. Calum McAndrew, Kansas City Star, 5 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'petition.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin petition-, petitio, from petere to seek, request — more at feather

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

1607, in the meaning defined at sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of petition was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near petition

Cite this Entry

“Petition.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/petition. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

petition

1 of 2 noun
pe·​ti·​tion pə-ˈtish-ən How to pronounce petition (audio)
1
: an earnest request : entreaty
2
: a formal written request made to a superior or authority

petition

2 of 2 verb
petitioned; petitioning -ˈtish-(ə-)niŋ How to pronounce petition (audio)
: to make a request to or for
especially : to make a formal written request
petitioner noun

Legal Definition

petition

1 of 2 noun
pe·​ti·​tion
1
: a formal written request made to an official person or body (as a court or board)
a petition for equitable relief
the creditor filed a petition for involuntary bankruptcy
2
: a document embodying a formal written request

petition

2 of 2 transitive verb
: to direct a petition to
petition the court

intransitive verb

: to make a petition
petition for relief
petitioner noun

More from Merriam-Webster on petition

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!