courtship
Americannoun
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the wooing of one person by another.
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the period during which such wooing takes place.
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solicitation of favors, applause, etc.
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Ethology. behavior in animals that occurs before and during mating, often including elaborate displays.
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Obsolete. courtly behavior; courtesy; gallantry.
noun
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the act, period, or art of seeking the love of someone with intent to marry
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the seeking or soliciting of favours
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obsolete courtly behaviour
Etymology
Origin of courtship
Explanation
A courtship is a period in a romantic couple's relationship when they are dating. Most partners go through a courtship before deciding to get married. Courtship is an old-fashioned word, assuming that two people who love each other will eventually get married. If your uncle and aunt only met a few weeks before their wedding, you can say they had a brief courtship — and if you have friends who aren't married but have been together for years, you could describe their decades-long courtship. The word is indeed old-fashioned, from the 16th century when it meant "paying court to a woman with intention of marriage."
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.
Chip Courtship: Nvidia has forged a licensing deal with the chip startup Groq for its AI-inference technology, a sign of growing demand for cutting-edge AI chips.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025
Three years later, she completed “Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage,” her 12th book.
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2024
In 2017, she’d say that her favorite director that she worked with was Vincente Minnelli on “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father,” from 1963.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 17, 2023
Courtship is behavior during which members of one sex advertise their willingness to mate, and members of the opposite sex choose which mate they will accept.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2018
Courtship was difficult; we were always surrounded by people, and there were few places to go.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
