case

¹ American  

[kays] / keɪs /

noun

1. an instance of the occurrence, existence, etc., of something.

   Sailing in such a storm was a case of poor judgment.

2. the actual state of things.

   That is not the case.

3. a question or problem of moral conduct; matter.

   a case of conscience.

4. situation; circumstance; plight.

   Mine is a sad case.

5. a person or thing whose plight or situation calls for attention.

   This family is a hardship case.

6. a specific occurrence or matter requiring discussion, decision, or investigation, as by officials or law-enforcement authorities.

   The police studied the case of the missing jewels.

7. a stated argument used to support a viewpoint.

   He presented a strong case against the proposed law.

8. an instance of disease, injury, etc., requiring medical or surgical attention or treatment; individual affliction.

   She had a severe case of chicken pox.

9. a medical or surgical patient.

10. Law.

    1. a suit or action at law; cause.

    2. a set of facts giving rise to a legal claim, or to a defense to a legal claim.

11. Grammar.

    1. a category in the inflection of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives, noting the syntactic relation of these words to other words in the sentence, indicated by the form or the position of the words.

    2. a set of such categories in a particular language.

    3. the meaning of or the meaning typical of such a category.

    4. such categories or their meanings collectively.

12. Informal. a peculiar or unusual person.

    He's a case.

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idioms

1. get off someone's case, to stop bothering or criticizing someone or interfering in someone's affairs.

   I've had enough of your advice, so just get off my case.

2. have a case on, to be infatuated with.

   He had a case on the girl next door.

3. get / be on someone's case, to bother or nag someone; meddle in someone's affairs.

   Her brother is always on her case about getting married. Why do you keep getting on my case?

4. in case, if it should happen that; if.

   In case I am late, don't wait to start dinner.

5. in no case, under no condition; never.

   He should in no case be allowed to get up until he has completely recovered from his illness.

6. in case of, in the event of; if there should be.

   In case of an error in judgment, the group leader will be held responsible.

7. in any case, regardless of circumstances; be that as it may; anyhow.

   In any case, there won't be any necessity for you to come along.

case ² American  

[kays] / keɪs /

noun

1. an often small or portable container for enclosing something, as for carrying or safekeeping; receptacle.

   a jewel case.

2. a sheath or outer covering.

   a knife case.

3. a box with its contents.

   a case of ginger ale.

4. the amount contained in a box or other container.

   There are a dozen bottles to a case.

5. a pair or couple; brace.

   a case of pistols.

6. a surrounding frame or framework, as of a door.

7. Bookbinding. a completed book cover ready to be fitted to form the binding of a book.

8. Printing. a tray of wood, metal, or plastic, divided into compartments for holding types for the use of a compositor and usually arranged in a set of two, the upper upper case for capital letters and often auxiliary types, the lower lower case for small letters and often auxiliary types, now generally replaced by the California job case.

9. a cavity in the skull of a sperm whale, containing an oil from which spermaceti is obtained.

10. Also called case card. Cards. the last card of a suit or denomination that remains after the other cards have been played.

    a case heart;

    the case jack.

11. Faro. casebox.

12. Southeastern U.S. (chiefly South Carolina). a coin of a particular denomination, as opposed to the same amount in change.

    a case quarter.

13. Metallurgy. the hard outer part of a piece of casehardened steel.

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verb (used with object)

• cases,
  present (3rd person singular)
• cased,
  past participle,  past
• casing
  present participle

1. to put or enclose in a case; cover with a case.

2. Slang. to examine or survey (a house, bank, etc.) in planning a crime (sometimes followed byout ).

   They cased the joint and decided to pull the job on Sunday.

3. to fuse a layer of glass onto (glass of a contrasting color or of different properties).

4. to cover (a surface of a wall, well, shaft, etc.) with a facing or lining; revet.

5. Bookbinding. to bind (a book) in a case.

6. Cards Slang.

   1. to arrange (cards or a pack of cards) in a dishonest manner.

   2. to remember the quantity, suit, or denomination of (the cards played).

case ¹ British  

/ keɪs /

noun

1. 1. a container, such as a box or chest

   2. ( in combination )

      suitcase

      briefcase

2. an outer cover or sheath, esp for a watch

3. a receptacle and its contents

   a case of ammunition

4. a pair or brace, esp of pistols

5. architect another word for casing

6. a completed cover ready to be fastened to a book to form its binding

7. printing a tray divided into many compartments in which a compositor keeps individual metal types of a particular size and style. Cases were originally used in pairs, one (the upper case) for capitals, the other (the lower case) for small letters See also upper case lower case

8. metallurgy the surface of a piece of steel that has been case-hardened

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verb

1. to put into or cover with a case

   to case the machinery

2. slang to inspect carefully (esp a place to be robbed)

case ² British  

/ keɪs /

noun

1. a single instance, occurrence, or example of something

2. an instance of disease, injury, hardship, etc

3. a question or matter for discussion

   the case before the committee

4. a specific condition or state of affairs; situation

5. a set of arguments supporting a particular action, cause, etc

6. 1. a person attended or served by a doctor, social worker, solicitor, etc; patient or client

   2. ( as modifier )

      a case study

7. 1. an action or suit at law or something that forms sufficient grounds for bringing an action

      he has a good case

   2. the evidence offered in court to support a claim

8. grammar

   1. a set of grammatical categories of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives, marked by inflection in some languages, indicating the relation of the noun, adjective, or pronoun to other words in the sentence

   2. any one of these categories

      the nominative case

9. informal a person in or regarded as being in a specified condition

   the accident victim was a hospital case

   he's a mental case

10. informal a person of a specified character (esp in the phrase a hard case )

11. informal an odd person; eccentric

12. informal love or infatuation

13. short for case shot See canister

14. according to the circumstances

15. (adverb) no matter what; anyhow

    we will go in any case

16. (adverb)

    1. in order to allow for eventualities

    2. (as conjunction) in order to allow for the possibility that

       take your coat in case it rains

    3. if

17. (preposition) in the event of

18. (adverb) under no circumstances

    in no case should you fight back

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case Cultural  

1. A grammatical category indicating whether nouns and pronouns are functioning as the subject of a sentence (nominative case) or the object of a sentence (objective case), or are indicating possession (possessive case). He is in the nominative case, him is in the objective case, and his is in the possessive case. In a language such as English, nouns do not change their form in the nominative or objective case. Only pronouns do. Thus, ball stays the same in both “the ball is thrown,” where it is the subject, and in “Harry threw the ball,” where it is the object.

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case More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing case

• basket case
• get down to brass tacks (cases)
• have a case on
• in any case
• in case of
• in no case
• in the case of
• just in case
• make a federal case
• off someone's back (case)
• open and shut case

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Usage

What is a basic definition of case? A case is an instance or example of something, a container for storing something, or a matter that is being investigated by law enforcement or official agents. Case has many other senses as a noun and a verb. A case is something you can point to as an example of something. This sense of case is often used in reference to illness, such as a patient having a bad case of malaria. Real-life examples: If you go out in a thunderstorm with an umbrella and a raincoat, that would be a case of good judgement. The stone Sphinx in Egypt is a case of the amazing building powers of the ancient Egyptians. Used in a sentence: I had a minor case of food poisoning yesterday. A case is also a box or container that is used to keep something safe. It is usually small and is often designed specifically for a particular item. Sometimes, another term is used with case to describe exactly what is supposed to be stored in the case, as in knife case. Real-life examples: Guitars are often stored in guitar cases. Many people keep their eyeglasses in a glasses case. Smokers might have a cigarette case. Used in a sentence: He tried to break into the jewelry case. Lastly, a case is a matter or investigation that law enforcement or other officials are pursuing or working on. Detectives and other investigators are likely to be assigned or take on cases that they must research and try to find details about. Real-life examples: Police detectives often get assigned murder cases, burglary cases, kidnapping cases, and many other cases that require investigation. The famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes pursued many interesting cases that required his amazing deductive skills. Used in a sentence: The detective gathered clues while investigating the arson case. 

Synonym Usage

Case, instance, example, illustration suggest the existence or occurrence of a particular thing representative of its type. Case and instance are closely allied in meaning, as are example and illustration. Case is a general word, meaning a fact, occurrence, or situation typical of a class: a case of assault and battery. An instance is a concrete factual case which is adduced to explain a general idea: an instance of a brawl in which an assault occurred. An example is one typical case, usually from many similar ones, used to make clear or explain the working of a principle (what may be expected of any others of the group): This boy is an example of the effect of strict discipline. An illustration exemplifies a theory or principle similarly, except that the choice may be purely hypothetical: The work of Seeing Eye dogs is an illustration of what is thought to be intelligence in animals.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• caser
  noun
• caseless
  adjective
• well-cased
  adjective
• caselessly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• casing
  present
• cased
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• case
  simple
• cases
  simple
• have cased
  perfect
• has cased
  perfect
• am casing
  progressive
• are casing
  progressive
• is casing
  progressive
• have been casing
  perfect progressive
• has been casing
  perfect progressive

Past

• cased
  simple
• had cased
  perfect
• was casing
  progressive
• were casing
  progressive
• had been casing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will case
  simple
• will have cased
  perfect
• will be casing
  progressive
• will have been casing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of case¹

First recorded before 1150; Middle English ca(a)s, from Anglo-French, Old French cas, from Latin cāsus “fall, accident, event, grammatical case” (translation of Greek ptôsis ), equivalent to cad(ere) “to fall” + -tus suffix of verb action; compare Old English cāsus “grammatical case”

Origin of case²

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English cas, from Anglo-French cas(s)e, Old French chasse, from Latin capsa “cylindrical case for holding books in scroll form, receptacle”

Explanation

A case is a specific instance or example of something. Your teacher might say, "In your case, I think you should go right into the calculus class." A case is one particular situation — and it's also a legal term for a court proceeding, and a medical term for the details of one specific patient. Another kind of case is a bag that holds or covers something, like a laptop case or a cellphone case. When case is a verb, it means "to scope out a location for burglarizing it later." These various meanings come from two Latin roots: casus, "chance or occasion," and capsa, "box."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

case cases cased casing

The lawyer for Lindsay Clancy urged a judge Tuesday to acquit the US mother accused of murdering her three children after a jury failed to reach a verdict in the high-profile case.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

“This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history,” Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

The request to dismiss the case is among those that will be discussed at a hearing on 2 November, Judge William Sullivan said.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

A person has been detained for questioning in connection with the case, police said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026

Their theories directly contradict each other, and yet both groups believe that Phineas's case supports their side.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

This included widely unrelated cases from gun litigation and administrative law opinions from when Kavanaugh was a judge on the D.C.

From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026

He added that he was "very worried" about the current situation as "I know how badly it escalated and what the repercussions were in many cases".

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

The Justices hash out cases in public oral arguments, and they defend their decisions in print.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Since the start of this year, Yemen has tallied nearly 8,000 suspected cholera cases, including 22 deaths, and more than 9,600 dengue cases, including 37 people who had died, according to the WHO.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

When Karli and I came downstairs into the kitchen for breakfast, Mutti had all the cases packed.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Marinello said the placement of the furniture lift outside the Louvre suggested that the thieves had cased the space ahead of time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2025

The Los Angeles Police Department said the teenage fugitive was first arrested Feb. 29 in Pacific Palisades along with three other Chileans as they cased homes in the wealthy enclave.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2024

The allegation is one of a slew in a book that exposes painful, intimate — and in some cased contested — details about the lives of Harry and other members of the royal family.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 6, 2023

They traced H-2’s movements, cased the gang’s safe houses and assembled a fleet of pickup trucks and cars collected by the state authorities.

From New York Times ● Dec. 8, 2022

A cased sausage hung from a wire beside the binnacle; the cot was neatly made up.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

It could also be training guards to spot suspicious people who may be casing a museum and ask them if they need help, which may deter them from returning.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

The failed valve was sent for examination by Wartsila which found that a metal casing was damaged, probably worn away by another component that had worked loose.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Huang said the breakthrough came when firefighters were able strip the outer casing of the tank to allow for better cooling.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 25, 2026

Cartridge casings recovered near the Utah crime scene were matched through a federal database to an expended casing previously found during a search of Buzzard’s home in Vandenberg Village.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 26, 2025

Sits in the dark, runs his hands over the brown plastic casing.

From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Related Words

• action
• argument
• cause
• claim
• dispute
• evidence
• lawsuit
• litigation
• petition
• suit
• trial