plaintiff
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of plaintiff
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English plaintif “complaining person,” noun use of the adjective; see plaintive
Explanation
In a courtroom, the plaintiff is the person or group who is accusing another person or group of some wrongdoing. If you’re the plaintiff, you are claiming that a law was broken, and you’re in court to present your case. The plaintiff accuses, the defendant tries to prove that accusation wrong. You’ve seen this relationship on television shows about lawyers, or maybe you’ve been to court yourself. The Old French root word translates as “complain” and the Latin root is literally “beating of the breast,” or explaining your grief in a dramatic way. Plaintiff shares roots with the adjective plaintive, which describes a sorrowful sound. The plaintiff made a plaintive cry when the defendant was declared not guilty.
Vocabulary lists containing plaintiff
Twelve Days in May
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A Tale of Two Cities
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Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Consistent with this deliberate strategy, Plaintiff would not have agreed to license her name, image or likeness in connection with the sale of the Infringing Products."
From Barron's • May 11, 2026
Plaintiff attorneys never let a cultural problem go to waste.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 27, 2026
Plaintiff states would also incur substantially more costs to get them enrolled, as Feigenbaum argued.
From Slate • May 19, 2025
She directed the federal government “to facilitate and effectuate the return of Plaintiff Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to the United States by no later than 11:59 PM on Monday, April 7, 2025.”
From Salon • Apr. 19, 2025
Plaintiff and defendant were different things, had different chances.
From Miser Farebrother, Volume I (of 3) A Novel by Farjeon, Benjamin Leopold
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
