plaintiff

American  

[playn-tif] / ˈpleɪn tɪf /

noun

Law.

• plaintiffs
  plural

1. a person who brings suit in a court (opposed to defendant).

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plaintiff British  

/ ˈpleɪntɪf /

noun

1. Now replaced by: claimant. (formerly) a person who brings a civil action in a court of law Compare defendant

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plaintiff Cultural  

1. The party that institutes a suit in a court. The person or entity the plaintiff sues is the defendant.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• plaintiffship
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• plaintiffs
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of plaintiff

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English plaintif “complaining person,” noun use of the adjective; see plaintive

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Explanation

In a courtroom, the plaintiff is the person or group who is accusing another person or group of some wrongdoing. If you’re the plaintiff, you are claiming that a law was broken, and you’re in court to present your case. The plaintiff accuses, the defendant tries to prove that accusation wrong. You’ve seen this relationship on television shows about lawyers, or maybe you’ve been to court yourself. The Old French root word translates as “complain” and the Latin root is literally “beating of the breast,” or explaining your grief in a dramatic way. Plaintiff shares roots with the adjective plaintive, which describes a sorrowful sound. The plaintiff made a plaintive cry when the defendant was declared not guilty.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

plaintiff plaintiffs

Charles Tobin, a lawyer representing the BBC, said in court that "we still haven't been able to depose the plaintiff" with two months left in the discovery period.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

The other asks what a plaintiff must allege before suing over it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Defending Education, which sued UC in June 2026, is the sole plaintiff in the case.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

The plaintiff in particular, professor Alison Hoagland, said, I regularly walk through this park.

From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026

“The plaintiff, meaning Mr. Hobert?” says Principal Jenkins.

From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya

“Defendant has built its entire business model based on copyright infringement at a scale never seen before,” the plaintiffs said in a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in San Francisco.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2026

Those included mention of plaintiffs and defendants not in the complaint, supposed “declarations” from non-existent or never-present individuals, false quotations purporting to be taken from the text of H.B.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

"Our litigation is intended to protect this community jewel for the people and communities it serves," Democracy Forward, the group representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement on social media.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

The plaintiffs cite an additional aggravating factor: Shell's "history of misinformation regarding the causes and impacts of climate change," said Greg Lascelles, a lawyer at Hausfeld, the firm handling the lawsuit in London.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

There were only four plaintiffs now, since one of the women, Jeanette Reese, had dropped out under pressure from her employer.

From "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose

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Related Words

• complainant
• litigant
• prosecutor

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