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  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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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

Each crown court will have at least one courtroom especially set up to hear such cases.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

Beatty has only missed one hearing in her court case since it began in December.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

All the remains recovered so far from Chemmani have been kept in the Forensic Department of the University of Jaffna campus under court custody.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

The European Union could require the bloc’s banks to continue working with the court.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

The following day, on Sunday June 28, Dasch was escorted to New York and taken to the federal court building.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

The state Supreme Court in October declined to hear a UC appeal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

The International Criminal Court didn’t respond to a request for comment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

At Canterbury Crown Court on Friday, Judge Sarah Counsell said the offence was so serious "only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified".

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

She was arrested several times but was never sentenced to jail time, Ventura County Superior Court records show.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

“Stonehenge Court or Street or something like that—I remember thinking that someone involved in a mystery should have a mysterious address like that.”

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

“The federal courts must resolve the legality of the novel legal theory behind this legislation before we proceed,” Newsom said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

For anyone disappointed that the courts have apparently closed the book on whether a Reese’s pumpkin needs a face, the dispute may not be over yet.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

A number of other author lawsuits against AI companies are winding their way through courts against AI companies, including from textbook writers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

Following the court decision in late 2024, I challenged MI5 and said they had lied to the courts.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

The courts, local lawmen, and state and national troops all lined up against the union organizers.

From "Fannie Never Flinched" by Mary Cronk Farrell

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker once courted data centers but now has turned them a cold shoulder.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Salary-cap circumvention allegations first surfaced with Leonard during his free agency in 2019 after he led the Raptors to the NBA championship and was being courted by the Lakers and Clippers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

The rich complained, but mayors from Rudy Giuliani to de Blasio courted the city’s most successful to help keep the city in the black.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Zidane has long been courted to become France manager and was first linked with the job after the team was knocked out of the 2010 World Cup in the group stage.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

Evenings were often given over to discussions and meetings with local poets, painters, musicians, and writers of fiction, at which they praised or condemned other artists, scorned the marketplace and courted it.

From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison

There is a long history of outside nations courting Pacific island states for diplomatic clout.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

Garcetti was already courting Lucas and Hobson, and initially proposed that the museum replace the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

And short of guaranteeing that someone gets slapped across the face every year, count on the Oscars to try to regain its distinction while courting viewers however possible.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026

But history also provides examples of companies for whom courting less-creditworthy customers backfired spectacularly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Although I could humor her by courting the bird, I knew that I definitely could not call him Cheeky.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

Related Words

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