Definition

1. Noun:
   • Litigation to settle custody of the children of a divorced couple: A "custody battle" is a legal dispute, typically in a family court, where divorcing or separated parents contest who will have legal and/or physical custody of their child or children.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The divorce was amicable, but they ended up in a bitter custody battle over their son.
  • The high-profile custody battle between the celebrities was covered extensively in the media.
  • To avoid a lengthy and expensive custody battle, the couple agreed to mediation.

Advanced Usage

• "to be locked in a custody battle": To be deeply involved in an ongoing, often contentious, legal fight for child custody.

  • For two years, they have been locked in a custody battle that has drained them emotionally and financially.

• "a protracted custody battle": A custody dispute that is extended over a long period of time.

  • The judge urged them to settle, warning that a protracted custody battle would harm the children.

Variants and Related Words

• Custody (n): The legal right or duty to care for a child.

  • The court awarded sole custody to the mother.

• Child custody (n): The care, control, and maintenance of a child, which may be awarded by a court to one of the parents in a divorce or separation proceeding.

  • The primary consideration in any child custody case is the best interest of the child.

Synonyms

• Custody dispute: A disagreement over child custody, which may or may not involve formal litigation.
• Custody proceeding: The formal legal process to determine custody.

Related Phrases

• To fight for custody: To actively seek to obtain legal custody of a child.

  • He is prepared to fight for custody of his daughter.

• To win/lose custody: To be granted or denied legal custody by a court.

  • She won custody, but he was granted generous visitation rights.

Related Idioms

• A tug of war over the children: An idiom describing a custody battle, emphasizing the conflict and pulling between two sides.
  • Their divorce turned into a painful tug of war over the children.

Noun

1. litigation to settle custody of the children of a divorced couple