Meaning & use
plaintiff
Last updated
UK/ˈpleɪntɪf/
US/ˈpleɪntɪf/
Meaning
nouncountablelegal
The person or party who starts a civil lawsuit by claiming that someone else has wronged them.
Grammar: Countable: the plaintiff, the plaintiffs.
Patterns
- the plaintiff in a case
- plaintiff v. defendant
The plaintiff asked the court for compensation.
The plaintiffs argued that the company had ignored safety rules.
The judge ruled in favor of the plaintiff.
Word forms
| plural | plaintiffs |
|---|
Common combinations
- the plaintiff alleges
- The plaintiff alleges that the contract was broken.
- lead plaintiff
- The lead plaintiff spoke to reporters.
- rule in favor of the plaintiff
- The court ruled in favor of the plaintiff.
- plaintiff and defendant
- Both plaintiff and defendant were present.
Synonyms and how they differ
- claimant
- The usual British term and used in some civil cases.
- complainant
- Used in some criminal and administrative contexts.
Opposites
Word family
- plaint noun
- a formal legal complaint (rare)
Commonly confused: plaintiff or plaintive?
plaintiff vs plaintive
Plaintive means sounding sad and mournful and is unrelated to court cases.
Practice
In a civil lawsuit, who is the plaintiff?
Choose one answer.
The plaintiff brings the case. The person being sued is the defendant.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “plaintiff”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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