lawsuit
Americannoun
-
lawsuits
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lawsuit
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How does lawsuit compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A lawsuit is the result of a disagreement that ends up in court. A long-running feud between neighbors about a flock of chickens and a barking dog might eventually end up as a lawsuit. If someone files a lawsuit against you, you become a defendant, while they are the plaintiff. Lawsuits are always part of civil law, rather than criminal cases, involving something some kind of financial or personal loss. When you're embroiled in a lawsuit, you'll probably need to hire a lawyer. This legal term dates from the 17th century.
Vocabulary lists containing lawsuit
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.
See Examples For:
If a project is approved, opponents would have 30 days to file a lawsuit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
But Denise said that he didn’t deserve to die the way that he did, and that she hopes their lawsuit will “force some accountability” for law enforcement officers who harm inmates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Whatever happens, the lawsuit will still tell a powerful story.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
Earlier in the year Arizona retained outside counsel and set aside money for a potential lawsuit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Kathy and Zeitoun decided to name Donald Lima, the officer on the arrest report, in the lawsuit.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
“As people like to say in the basin, lawsuits aren’t going to generate any water,” Mr. Udall says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Until now, the only lawsuits filed over the disaster had targeted public authorities.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Character.ai, a California startup that has faced lawsuits over allegations that chatbots created on its platform harmed the mental health of teens and led to copyright issues, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
In one of its lawsuits, SAL alleged that Seaver began making threats in the weeks leading up to Parton’s death.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
A former teacher in Newport News’s public schools, he had taken the Newsome Park job after being fired for joining what was one of the most bitter and contentious of all of Virginia’s teacher-pay-equalization lawsuits.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
