Meaning & use
course of action
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Meaning
nouncountable
A particular step or series of steps you decide to take to deal with a situation.
Grammar: Takes an or the: the best course of action.
Patterns
- a course of action for something
- decide on a course of action
The doctor discussed the best course of action with the family.
After the leak, the board agreed on a new course of action.
We have two possible courses of action: repair the roof or replace it.
Word forms
| plural | courses of action |
|---|
Common combinations
- best course of action
- Waiting a week was the best course of action.
- decide on a course of action
- The team met to decide on a course of action.
- recommend a course of action
- The adviser recommended a cautious course of action.
- alternative course of action
- There is no alternative course of action.
- follow a course of action
- He chose to follow a risky course of action.
- a sensible course of action
- Calling the police was the sensible course of action.
Synonyms and how they differ
- plan
- Plan is shorter and more general, while course of action suggests a deliberate choice among options.
- strategy
- Strategy refers to a larger long-term approach, whereas a course of action may be a single decision.
- approach
- Approach is a way of handling something, less specific than a chosen course of action.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: course of action or coarse?
course of action vs coarse
Coarse means rough or crude and is a different word from course, though the two sound the same.
Practice
Which phrase best completes the sentence? 'After weighing all the risks, the committee settled on the safest ____ of action.'
Choose one answer.
Course of action is the fixed phrase. Coarse, curse and corpse sound or look similar but make no sense here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “course of action”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.