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citation

sye-TAY-shun /saɪˈteɪʃn/

nounB2IELTSTOEFLGRE

formallegal

An official ticket or notice issued by a law enforcement officer ordering a person to pay a fine or appear in court for a traffic offense.

Refers to the physical document or formal written notice of an offense, rather than the act of breaking the rule itself.

The story behind the word. In Roman law, 'citare' was the formal legal call summoning a citizen to appear before a magistrate. In English law, a citation remained an official judicial order to appear, eventually narrowing in modern usage to mean traffic tickets handed out by highway patrol.

Word relationships

ticket: 'Ticket' is informal conversational usage, whereas 'citation' is the formal legal term used on court documents.

clearance: Clearance indicates complete freedom from legal charges, whereas a citation documents an active charge or fine.

Commonly confused with

infraction: An infraction is the underlying rule broken; a citation is the written paper or summons given by an officer.

Word family

cite (verb): To issue a citation to or summon legally.

Collocations

issue a citation
traffic citation
receive a citation
pay a citation

Example sentences

"The officer pulled over the speeding vehicle and issued a traffic citation requiring a fine or court appearance." Police Enforcement
"If you fail to contest or pay the citation within thirty days, additional administrative penalties will be assessed." Court Notice

Memory hook

CITE a driver to make them SIGHT the court judge. CITATION = formal written ticket.

When not to use

Do not confuse citation with the act of breaking a law; the infraction is the act, while the citation is the ticket given for it.

Fun facts

In Sweden, traffic citations for speeding can be scaled relative to the driver's annual income, leading to world-record fines for wealthy drivers.