[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/probate.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / probate

[← P](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/P/)

# probate

«probate» in Mova's school dictionary: **the official legal process that checks that a dead…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (probate, uncountable); verb (probate, probates, probated — USA)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (law) Probate is the official legal process that checks that a dead person's will is real, so that their money and belongings can be shared out as the will says. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/probate/#m1)

2) (USA, law) To probate a will is to prove it in court. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/probate/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

This is an adult, legal word children meet when a grandparent dies and the family talks about the will. A probate court or office deals with it, and it can take months. Phrases: «grant of probate», «go through probate», «probate court».

### examples

- After Grandad died, Mum had to deal with probate. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/probate/#x1)
- The house cannot be sold until probate is finished. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/probate/#x2)
- The lawyer applied for probate of the will. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/probate/#x3)
- Probate can take many months. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/probate/#x4)
- The probate court checked that the will was real. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/probate/#x5)
- Aunt Jo explained probate to me at the kitchen table. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/probate/#x6)
- Without probate, the bank will not hand over the money. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/probate/#x7)

### note

Uncountable in British use. Formal and legal. Related: will, executor (the person who carries out the will), inheritance. Do not confuse with «probation» (a time of being tested or watched, e.g. after a crime).

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «probate» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/probate/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.