Meaning & use
court
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Meanings
nouncountablelegal
A place or official body where a judge, and often a jury, hears legal cases and decides them.
Grammar: Countable, but often used without an article: go to court, in court.
Patterns
- in court
- take someone to court
- a court of law
The case will be heard in court next Tuesday.
He threatened to take the company to court.
The court ruled that the contract was invalid.
nouncountablesport
A marked area where games such as tennis, basketball or squash are played.
Grammar: Countable and usually named after the sport: a tennis court, on the court.
Patterns
- on the court
- a tennis court
The players walked onto the court as the crowd cheered.
We booked a court for an hour on Saturday.
Rain left the outdoor court too wet to use.
nouncountable
The household and advisers of a king or queen, or the place where they live and hold official events.
Grammar: Often singular with the: at court, the royal court.
Patterns
- at court
- the court of someone
Musicians and poets gathered at the court of the young queen.
Rumors spread quickly through the royal court.
verbtransitive or intransitiveold-fashioned
To try to win someone's affection or support, especially as a possible romantic partner or ally.
Grammar: Takes an object, or no object when two people are courting: he courted her; they were courting.
Patterns
- court someone
- court someone's support
He courted her for two years before proposing.
The party is courting younger voters with a new campaign.
The firm courted several investors before closing the deal.
verbtransitive
To do something that makes trouble or danger more likely.
Grammar: Takes an object, usually a negative one: court disaster, court controversy.
Patterns
- court disaster
- court danger
Sailing in that storm was courting disaster.
The comedian likes to court controversy.
Driving that fast on wet roads is courting trouble.
Word forms
| plural | courts |
|---|---|
| third person singular | courts |
| past tense | courted |
| past participle | courted |
| -ing form | courting |
Common combinations
- supreme court
- The supreme court agreed to hear the appeal.
- tennis court
- They play on the tennis court every morning.
- go to court
- She decided to go to court rather than settle.
- out of court
- The two sides settled out of court.
- court ruling
- The court ruling surprised many lawyers.
- court disaster
- Ignoring the safety rules courts disaster.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tribunal
- A tribunal is a body that handles specific kinds of disputes, such as employment cases, and is less formal than a court.
- woo
- Woo means to try to win over, often with flattery or effort, and is slightly more literary than court.
- pursue
- Pursue suggests a more determined chase, while court suggests polite effort and attention.
- invite
- Invite, in the sense of inviting trouble, is more neutral than court, which feels more reckless.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: court or caught?
court vs caught
Caught is the past of catch and sounds the same as court in some accents, but it is a verb form unrelated to law or sport.
Practice
He is ___ trouble by ignoring the safety instructions.
Choose one answer.
After 'is' you need the -ing form, courting, in the sense of making trouble likely. Courted would need 'has'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “court”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.