Jump To:

• court
  court
• Court
  Court

  noun

  Margaret Smith, born 1942, Australian tennis player.

court

¹ American  

[kawrt] / kɔrt /

noun

• courts
  plural

1. Law.

   1. a place where justice is administered.

   2. a judicial tribunal duly constituted for the hearing and determination of cases.

   3. a session of a judicial assembly.

2. an area open to the sky and mostly or entirely surrounded by buildings, walls, etc.

3. a high interior usually having a glass roof and surrounded by several stories of galleries or the like.

4. Chiefly Irish. a stately dwelling.

5. a short street.

6. a smooth, level quadrangle on which to play tennis, basketball, etc.

7. one of the divisions of such an area.

8. the residence of a sovereign or other high dignitary; palace.

9. a sovereign's or dignitary's retinue.

10. a sovereign and councilors as the political rulers of a state.

11. a formal assembly held by a sovereign.

12. homage paid, as to a king.

13. special or devoted attention in order to win favor, affection, etc..

    to pay court to the king.

14. the body of qualified members of a corporation, council, board, etc.

15. a branch or lodge of a fraternal society.

16. Animal Behavior.

    1. an area where animals of a particular species gather to display.

    2. the group of insects, as honeybees, surrounding the queen; retinue.

---

verb (used with object)

• courts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• courted,
  past participle,  past
• courting
  present participle

1. to try to win the favor, preference, or goodwill of.

   to court the rich.

2. to seek the affections of; woo.

3. (of animals) to attempt to attract (a mate) by engaging in certain species-specific behaviors.

4. to attempt to gain (applause, favor, a decision, etc.).

5. to hold out inducements to; invite.

6. to act in such a manner as to cause, lead to, or provoke.

   to court disaster by reckless driving.

verb (used without object)

• courts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• courted,
  past participle,  past
• courting
  present participle

1. to seek another's love; woo.

2. (of animals) to engage in certain species-specific behaviors in order to attract a mate.

idioms

1. hold court,

   1. to have a formal assembly of a judicial tribunal or one held by a sovereign.

   2. to be surrounded by one's disciples or admirers, giving advice, exchanging gossip, receiving compliments, etc.

2. out of court,

   1. without a legal hearing; privately.

      The case will be settled out of court.

   2. out of the question; undeserving of discussion.

      This wild scheme is entirely out of court.

Court ² American  

[kawrt, kohrt] / kɔrt, koʊrt /

noun

1. Margaret Smith, born 1942, Australian tennis player.

---

court ¹ British  

/ kɔːt /

noun

1. an area of ground wholly or partly surrounded by walls or buildings

2. (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

4. 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

9. 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

10. 1. the board of directors or council of a corporation, company, etc

    2. the supreme council of some universities

11. a branch of any of several friendly societies

12. to take legal action

13. to preside over admirers, attendants, etc

14. 1. without a trial or legal case

       the case was settled out of court

    2. too unimportant for consideration

    3. so as to ridicule completely (in the phrase laugh out of court )

15. you are obliged to make the next move

---

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

Court ² British  

/ kɔːt /

noun

1. Margaret (née Smith ). born 1942, Australian tennis player, winner of a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles: Australian Open champion 1960–66, 1969–71, and 1973; US Open champion 1962, 1965, 1969–70, and 1973; Wimbledon champion 1963, 1965, and 1970; French Open champion 1962, 1965, 1969–70, and 1973

---

court More Idioms  

1. see ball's in your court; day in court; friend in court; hold court; kangaroo court; laugh out of court; pay court to.

---

Usage

Where does court come from? Court of law. Tennis court. Courtship. Courtyard. Courtesy. Ever notice that all of these words and phrases—and many others—include court in some form? That’s no coincidence. The word court entered English around 1125–75. It comes from French, ultimately from the Latin cohors, variously meaning “farmyard, armed force, cohort, retinue.” More about that Latin noun cohors in the next section. Today, if someone says they went to court, they are referring to the place where lawyers argue cases, juries weigh evidence, and judges issue sentences. (We hope they weren’t in any trouble.) The legal senses of court are among the word’s oldest, found at least by the end of the 1200s in the sense of “assembly of judges.”Even older is the royal court. Think of those medieval princes and princesses doing their princely and princessly things in courts. Found in the mid- to late 1100s, that court originally referred to the place where a sovereign lived, as well as to an assembly that that ruler held. Whether used of royalty and law, these early senses of court—still in use today—suggest an underlying idea of an official group gathered together in an area set aside for special purposes. Speaking of physical spaces, many sports are played on courts, including basketball, volleyball, and tennis and other racquet sports. The original sports court, as far as the word is concerned, was for tennis. This draws on that basic sense of court as “an enclosed area.”Dig deeperHow are the words courtesy and courtship connected to court? Courtesy (“polite behavior”), along with the adjective courteous, comes from French words meaning “having manners fitting for the court of a prince.” Fun fact: curtsy,“a respectful bow made by women and girls, consisting of bending the knees and lowering the body,” is a variant of courtesy. Courtship stems from court in its verb sense of “to woo,” as in He courted his partner over romantic emails and text messages. Court, as a verb, can also mean “to win the favor (of another).” These senses are connected to the idea of paying court—homage, attention, and well, courtesy—to someone, as they historically would have at a court. Learn even more words about related to court at our entries for courtier and courtesan.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• outcourt
  verb (used with object)
• uncourted
  adjective
• well-courted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• courts
  plural

Participles

• courting
  present
• courted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• court
  simple
• courts
  simple
• have courted
  perfect
• has courted
  perfect
• am courting
  progressive
• are courting
  progressive
• is courting
  progressive
• have been courting
  perfect progressive
• has been courting
  perfect progressive

Past

• courted
  simple
• had courted
  perfect
• was courting
  progressive
• were courting
  progressive
• had been courting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will court
  simple
• will have courted
  perfect
• will be courting
  progressive
• will have been courting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of court

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English co(u)rt, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin cohort- (stem of cohors ) “farmyard”; see cohort

Explanation

A court is a room where justice is administered. Many popular television shows feature scenes in court, although it’s debatable whether these depictions are realistic. Court can refer not just to the courtroom but also to the judges who preside over it, as in the example of the U.S. Supreme Court. Court can also refer to monarchs and their attendants, as in the phrase "royal court." As a verb, court means “try to win the affections of someone,” as, historically, people sought to win the favor of royalty. (But if you try courting anyone in a modern courtroom, you'll probably be accused of bribery.)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

court Court courts courted courting

Through May, prosecutors had charged fewer than four dozen people with crimes related to noncitizen voting, ProPublica’s analysis of DOJ data and federal court filings shows, getting convictions or guilty pleas in 14 cases.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

Tumlin was referring to a ruling by an administrative immigration court that was published Thursday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

A crowd of press, supporters of Mangione, observers, and a handful of court staff members who had won a lottery to attend gathered in the packed courtroom.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

He moved to regulate e-bikes, and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch’s department began to issue criminal court summonses for reckless violations of traffic laws by their riders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Others were shooting hoops on the basketball court.

From "Sleepover Sleuths: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #1" by Carolyn Keene

To understand today’s Supreme Court, you need to understand Neil Gorsuch.

From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026

She was found not guilty of both by the jury at Caernarfon Crown Court.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

“The Court of Pacifica” also included a fountain of 20 other sculptures representing the Pacifica community.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

The solicitor general, in the appeal to the Supreme Court, also emphasized the security aspects of the project.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Except the Court of Honor showcased the most expensive exhibits, so it would also be swarming with Columbian Guards.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

“VCAS respected the judicial process when courts placed a temporary stay, and we must respect that same process now that the stay has been lifted.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Stearns’ ruling does not directly affect federal courts in California, but it could shape arguments if UC asks a judge to throw out the claims against it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

They are filed in courts in California and Texas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

StubHub’s terms of service require disputes to be resolved through private arbitration, not the courts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

When we reached the outdoor courts, Teddy and Doug did that chin-jerk thing guys do.

From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence

MSG's owners have courted controversy by aggressively using facial recognition technology to detect and exclude not only lawyers who have sued the company -- but all of their colleagues too.

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

But Epstein courted influence and rubbed shoulders with prominent individuals associated with both parties in his efforts to rehabilitate his reputation.

From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026

While working for Harris, she courted Latinos and working-class voters in battleground states.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026

Having withdrawn from an England Under-21s camp, a secret rendezvous to meet US Soccer officials was instead plastered all over social media and he was courted with NBA tickets and trips to Florida.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

And a man who survived the dangers of the battlefield courted danger by walking the streets of his hometown in uniform.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Long before the Supreme Court handed down the landmark Obergefell ruling on equal marriage in 2015, activists were canvassing door to door, courting any lawmaker who would listen, and losing at the local level—a lot.

From Slate ● Aug. 1, 2026

Banks have been aggressively courting such customers with cards promising increasingly elaborate perks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Ten years after the fall of Troy, Odysseus still hasn’t returned home to Ithaca, and his kingdom has been overtaken by suitors crudely courting his wife’s hand.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026

I’m looking for a man who sees the value of courting a woman in the first place.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

“What are you cooking up, Jinx? The last time you were this interested in my courting Pearl Ann, I ended up smelling like a glacial skunk.”

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

Related Words

• attract
• charm
• cultivate
• entice
• invite
• please
• praise
• propose
• pursue
• seek
• solicit
• sue
• woo