de minimis
adjective
Did you know?
Proponents of readable prose over jargon and legalese might argue that the last thing 20th-century American jurisprudence needed was another Latin term. Yet here we have a legal term that entered English only around 1950. Perhaps we should clarify: the legal doctrine of de minimis non curat lex ("the law does not concern itself with trifling matters") has been around for a while, but use of de minimis on its own is relatively recent. At first, the shortened phrase was simply used to refer to the legal doctrine itself ("the de minimis rule"). Then it came to be used more broadly as an adjective ("de minimis contacts with the defendant"). Finally, de minimis leaked out of the courtroom and into the world at large.
Examples of de minimis in a Sentence
Ryan Young, National Review, 22 May 2025
But with the threshold high in the U.S., around four million small packages claiming de minimis exemptions crossed into the U.S. daily last year, which was exploited by low-cost exporters such as Temu and Shein.
—Mark Faithfull, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025
Related Stories The China de minimis ban, which is still very much in its rollout phase, has been viewed as a mortal wound to the trade provision.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 16 May 2025
Monday’s executive order eases the 120% tariff on de minimis postal packages down.
—Ramishah Maruf, CNN Money, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for de minimis
Cite this Entry
“De minimis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/de%20minimis. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
de minimis
adjective
Note: An action may be dismissed if the claim or cause is considered de minimis.
New Latin, concerning trifles
Share