complaint
Americannoun
-
an expression of discontent, regret, pain, censure, resentment, or grief; lament; faultfinding.
his complaint about poor schools.
-
a cause of discontent, pain, grief, lamentation, etc.
-
a cause of bodily pain or ailment; malady.
The doctor says I suffer from a rare complaint.
-
Law. the first pleading of the plaintiff in a civil action, stating the cause of action.
noun
-
the act of complaining; an expression of grievance
-
a cause for complaining; grievance
-
a mild ailment
-
English law a statement by which a civil proceeding in a magistrates' court is commenced
Usage
What does complaint mean? A complaint is a statement about something you’re unhappy or upset about. It has more specific meanings in legal and medical contexts.Complaint is the noun form of the verb complain. In legal terms, a complaint is the document that officially initiates a legal proceeding. In medicine, it refers to a symptom or cause of pain as reported by a patient.Example: I liked the movie, but my one complaint is that the women in the cast didn’t get enough screen time.
Other Word Forms
- countercomplaint noun
Etymology
Origin of complaint
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English compleynte, from Middle French complainte, from Latin com- com- + plancta plaint
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.
Steakhouse operators say their customers tend to be more affluent and can pay up, but the operators still have plenty of complaints about rising prices.
The police department first used one of the drones to crack down on illegal fireworks in 2024 in response to repeated complaints from residents.
"People are playing in the middle of the night and there's nothing we can do about it," Nguyen told AFP, adding that she had filed a complaint with local authorities.
From Barron's
That prompted him to file a complaint to the UN's human rights office.
From Barron's
Duda said they need two police officers directing traffic, otherwise he fields complaints about cars blocking the intersection down the road.
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.
