class action

American  

noun

1. a legal proceeding in which persons representing interests common to a large group participate as representatives of the group or class.

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class action British  

noun

1. law a legal action undertaken by one or more people representing the interests of a large group of people with the same grievance

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Other Word Forms

• class-action
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of class action

First recorded in 1950–55

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

class action

“Separately, we are engaged in ongoing mediation discussions regarding the various pending civil class action lawsuits,” Melrose said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

In January, immigrant rights groups and detainees filed a federal class action lawsuit against the federal government, which led to the court order in July.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

Former executives and insiders agreed to a $125 million settlement in a related class action.

From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026

The class action lawsuit has been brought on behalf of millions of streamers who use Twitch, alleging its parent company Amazon used their videos to train AI without their permission or proper compensation.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

Instead, at the end of 2002, Household settled a class action suit out of court and agreed to pay a $484 million fine distributed to twelve states.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

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