petition

/pəˈtɪʃən/ verb [I or T]

Definition

› LAW to make a formal request for a decision or action, especially from a court of law: He could have petitioned for the appeals court to consider his request. The company has petitioned the organization to keep details of the new phone secret.

› POLITICS to sign a document with large numbers of other people asking the government or authorities to do something or not to do something: petition for/against sth Local people petitioned against the closure of the hospital.

(Definition of petition verb from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)