Meaning & use
suing
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“suing” is a form of “sue”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
verbtransitive or intransitivelegallaw
using the law to ask a court to make someone pay money or do something because they harmed you
Grammar: Can take an object (sue someone) or be used without an object when the context is clear (they are suing for damages).
Patterns
- sue someone
- sue someone for something
- sue for divorce
She is suing her former employer for unfair dismissal.
The company is suing the supplier over the faulty parts.
They are suing for divorce after ten years of marriage.
Word forms
| base form | sue |
|---|---|
| third person singular | sues |
| past tense | sued |
| past participle | sued |
| -ing form | suing |
Common combinations
- sue for damages
- The family decided to sue for damages after the accident.
- sue someone for libel
- The actor is suing the newspaper for libel.
- threaten to sue
- The customer threatened to sue if the problem was not fixed.
- sue over something
- They are suing over the broken contract.
Synonyms and how they differ
- prosecute
- Prosecute is used when the government brings a criminal case against someone; sue is used for civil cases where one person asks for money or action from another.
- litigate
- Litigate is more formal and refers to the whole process of taking a case through the legal system, while sue just means starting that process.
- take legal action
- This is a broader phrase that can include suing but also other steps like sending a formal warning; suing is more specific.
Word family
Commonly confused: suing or sueing?
suing vs sueing
This is a common misspelling. The correct spelling is suing, formed by dropping the final e of sue before adding -ing.
Practice
Which sentence uses the correct form of the verb?
Choose one answer.
The -ing form of sue is suing (drop the e). Option 2 misspells it as 'sueing'. Option 3 uses the wrong preposition 'for' before the object. Option 4 uses the base form 'sue' instead of the -ing form after 'is'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “suing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.