English Dictionary

Definition of “court”

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court (kɔːtPronunciation for court) 

Definitions

noun

  1. an area of ground wholly or partly surrounded by walls or buildings
  2. British (capital when part of a name)
    1. a block of flats  ⇒ Selwyn Court 
    2. a mansion or country house
    3. a short street, sometimes closed at one end
  3. a space inside a building, sometimes surrounded with galleries
    1. the residence, retinues, or household of a sovereign or nobleman
    2. ((as modifier)  ⇒ a court ball 
  5. a sovereign or prince and his retinue, advisers, etc
  6. any formal assembly, reception, etc, held by a sovereign or nobleman with his courtiers
  7. homage, flattering attention, or amorous approaches (esp in the phrase pay court to someone)
  8. law 
    1. an authority having power to adjudicate in civil, criminal, military, or ecclesiastical matters
    2. the regular sitting of such a judicial authority
    3. the room or building in which such a tribunal sits
    1. a marked outdoor or enclosed area used for any of various ball games, such as tennis, squash, etc
    2. a marked section of such an area  ⇒ the service court 
    1. the board of directors or council of a corporation, company, etc
    2. mainly British the supreme council of some universities
  11. a branch of any of several friendly societies
  12. See go to court
  13. See hold court
  14. See out of court
  15. See the ball is in your court

verb

  1. to attempt to gain the love of (someone); woo
  2. (tr) to pay attention to (someone) in order to gain favour
  3. (tr) to try to obtain (fame, honour, etc)
  4. (tr) to invite, usually foolishly, as by taking risks  ⇒ to court disaster 
  5. old-fashioned to be conducting a serious emotional relationship usually leading to marriage

Word Origin

C12: from Old French, from Latin cohorscohort

Synonyms

View thesaurus entry
= law court, bar, bench, tribunal, court of justice, seat of judgment
= playing area park, ground, field, ring, arena, circus, enclosure, rink,
= palace, hall, castle, manor,
= royal household train, suite, attendants, entourage, retinue, cortege,
= courtyard, yard, square, plaza, piazza, cloister, quad, quadrangle,
= cultivate, seek, flatter, solicit, pander to curry favour with fawn upon,
= invite, seek, attract, prompt, provoke, bring about, incite,
= woo, go (out) with go steady with date, chase, sue, pursue, take out, make love to run after, walk out with, keep company with pay court to set your cap at pay your addresses to step out with,

Court (kɔːtPronunciation for Court) 

Definitions

noun

  1. Margaret (née (née Smith). born 1942, Australian tennis player: Australian champion 1960–66, 1969–71, and 1973; US champion 1962, 1965, 1969–70, and 1973; Wimbledon champion 1963, 1965, and 1970

Translations

  • British English: court Pronunciation for court A court is a place where a judge and a group of people (= a jury) decide if someone has done something wrong.She appeared in court as a witness.kɔːt NOUN She appeared in court as a witness.
  • Spanish: juzgado Pronunciation for juzgado nm
  • French: tribunal Pronunciation for tribunal nm
  • German: Gericht Pronunciation for Gericht nnt
  • Chinese: 法院Pronunciation for 法院 n
  • Arabic: مَحْكَمَةPronunciation for مَحْكَمَة n
  • Portuguese: tribunalPronunciation for tribunal nm
  • Russian: судPronunciation for суд nm
  • Croatian: sudPronunciation for sud nm
  • Czech: soudPronunciation for soud nm
  • Danish: retPronunciation for ret nutr
  • Dutch: rechtbankPronunciation for rechtbank n
  • Finnish: oikeusPronunciation for oikeus n
  • Greek: δικαστήριοPronunciation for δικαστήριο nnt
  • Italian: tribunalePronunciation for tribunale nm
  • Japanese: 法廷Pronunciation for 法廷 n
  • Korean: 법원Pronunciation for 법원 n
  • Norwegian: domstolPronunciation for domstol nm
  • Polish: sądPronunciation for sąd nm
  • Brazilian Portuguese: tribunalPronunciation for tribunal nm
  • European Spanish: juzgado Pronunciation for juzgado nm
  • Swedish: domstolPronunciation for domstol nutr
  • Thai: ศาลPronunciation for ศาล n
  • Turkish: mahkemePronunciation for mahkeme n
  • Vietnamese: tòa ánPronunciation for tòa án n
  • British English: court A court is an area for playing a game such as tennis.The hotel has several tennis courts.kɔːt NOUN The hotel has several tennis courts.
  • French: terrain nm
  • Arabic: ساحَةُ اللَّعِب n
  • Brazilian Portuguese: quadra nf

Usage examples

  • Then you'll receive notice from the magistrate's court sometime over the next few weeks.
    Hugo Wilcken, THE EXECUTION (2002)
  • A landowner can, however, apply for a court order for possession of the land.
    Country Life (2004)
  • He also describes how the two gardaí arranged his court expenses.
    Irish Times (2002)
  • There is no equivalent of the Takeover Panel in the US and disputes often end up in court.
    Glasgow Herald (2001)
  • In the court of the cosmic zodiac, the Aries Moon represents the young prince or knight champion.
    Michael Geary, MOON ASTROLOGY FOR LOVERS (2002)

Commonness

All English words that begin with 'C'

Related Terms

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