case study

American  

noun

case studies plural

1. a study of an individual unit, as a person, family, or social group, usually emphasizing developmental issues and relationships with the environment, especially in order to compare a larger group to the individual unit.

2. case history.

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case study British  

noun

1. the act or an instance of analysing one or more particular cases or case histories with a view to making generalizations

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• case studies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of case study

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

case study

To investigate the problem, Sinibaldi and lead author Francisca Paiva, a physicist at Instituto Superior Técnico, developed a detailed computer model using the European Space Agency's Argonaut mission as a case study.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026

Burnham has argued that Greater Manchester is a case study in how devolution can lift economic growth.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

For those who study ancient Greece, the classical era, roughly the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., presents a case study in the failure to learn from history.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026

“He’s kind of a case study in somebody who has a lot of opinions but has no idea of how the city is run,” Stevens said.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2026

“Somehow, Mom, I always feel like a case study around you.”

From "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Related Words

• medical history