Definitions for "Hearsay rule"
The long-standing evidentiary rule is that hearsay cannot be used in court. Rather than accepting testimony based upon hearsay, the trial process asks that the person who was the original source of the hearsay information be brought into court to be questioned and cross-examined. Exceptions to the hearsay rule may occur when the person with direct knowledge is dead or is otherwise unable to testify.
a rule of evidence that requires the declarant be subject to cross-examination at the hearing; many exceptions to the rule exist
Rule of evidence that disallows out of court statements offered for the truth of the matter asserted.