Macmillan Dictionary

Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

court

 - definition
 
 
 
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
noun British English pronunciation: court /kɔː(r)t/ 
Word Forms
Close
singularcourt
pluralcourts
Other entries for this word
 
  1. 1
    [countable/uncountable] legal a place where trials take place and legal cases are decided, especially in front of a judge and a jury or a magistrate.
    in court:

    The letter was read aloud in court.

    appear in court:

    Duggan will appear in court on Monday.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of court
    1. a.

      the court

       [singular] the people in a court, especially the judge and jury

      A police officer told the court that he had seen Brown leaving the house.

      the evidence before the court (=being considered by the court)

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of court
    2. b.
      [only before noun] done by a court or relating to a court

      They are dropping their court case against him.

      She got a court injunction banning her husband from her home.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of court
    3. c.
      [uncountable] used for referring to the process of taking a legal action against someone
      go to court (=begin a court case):

      She threatened to go to court if he did not pay up.

      take someone to court (=begin a case against someone):

      Lynn took her employers to court for compensation.

      come to court (=start to be discussed in court):

      It took five years for the case to come to court.

      settle out of court (=agree to pay someone in order to avoid a court case):

      Mr Lodge settled out of court for £50,000.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of court
    4. d.

      the courts

       [plural] the system of courts that decide legal cases

      You can always try to get your money back through the courts.

      The courts ruled that the company are entitled to make a fair profit.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of court
    See also  court of appeal
  2. 2
    [countable] an area marked with lines where some sports are played, such as tennis and squash
    tennis/squash/basketball/badminton court:

    The hotel has two tennis courts.

    on court:

    The players had been on court for over two hours.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of court

phrase

See also

This is the British English definition of court. View American English definition of court.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

View the pronunciation for court.

 

cyberloafing

using the Internet where you work, during working hours, for activities which are not work-related

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day

neutrino

a particle that is smaller than an atom and has no electrical charge

Open Dictionary

show a bit of ankle

… to reveal a small part of your intentions in order to attract support, without actually committing yourself to doing anything

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog