Meaning & use
out of court
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Meanings
phrasefixed phraselegal
Without going to a trial, usually because the two sides have agreed.
Grammar: Usually follows verbs like settle, resolve, or agree.
Patterns
- settle something out of court
- resolve something out of court
- agree out of court
The company settled the case out of court to avoid bad publicity.
They resolved their dispute out of court after months of talks.
The two sides agreed out of court and no trial took place.
adjectivebefore a nounlegal
Agreed or made without a trial, used before a noun.
Grammar: Used attributively with a hyphen: 'an out-of-court settlement'.
Patterns
- an out-of-court settlement
- an out-of-court agreement
They reached an out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed amount.
The out-of-court agreement ended the long legal battle.
An out-of-court deal saved both sides the cost of a trial.
Common combinations
- settle out of court
- The actor chose to settle out of court rather than face a jury.
- an out-of-court settlement
- The family accepted an out-of-court settlement.
- resolve a dispute out of court
- Mediation helped them resolve the dispute out of court.
- agree to settle out of court
- Both parties agreed to settle out of court.
Synonyms and how they differ
- by settlement
- By settlement means through a formal agreement; out of court stresses that no trial happened.
Opposites
Commonly confused: out of court or in court?
out of court vs in court
In court means during a legal hearing or trial; out of court means avoiding one.
Practice
Rather than go to trial, the two companies decided to settle the matter ______.
Choose one answer.
Settle out of court means reach an agreement without a trial. 'In court' would mean the case went before a judge.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “out of court”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.