course

[ kawrs, kohrs ]

/ kɔrs, koʊrs /

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See synonyms for: course / coursed / courses / coursing on Thesaurus.com

noun

a direction or route taken or to be taken.

the path, route, or channel along which anything moves: the course of a stream.

advance or progression in a particular direction; forward or onward movement.

the continuous passage or progress through time or a succession of stages: in the course of a year; in the course of the battle.

the track, ground, water, etc., on which a race is run, sailed, etc.: One runner fell halfway around the course.

a particular manner of proceeding: a course of action.

a customary manner of procedure; regular or natural order of events: as a matter of course; the course of a disease.

a mode of conduct; behavior.

a systematized or prescribed series: a course of lectures; a course of medical treatments.

a program of instruction, as in a college or university: a course in economics.

a prescribed number of instruction periods or classes in a particular field of study.

a part of a meal served at one time: The main course was roast chicken with mashed potatoes and peas.

Navigation.

the line along the earth's surface upon or over which a vessel, an aircraft, etc., proceeds: described by its bearing with relation to true or magnetic north.
a point of the compass.

Nautical. the lowermost sail on a fully square-rigged mast: designated by a special name, as foresail or mainsail, or by the designation of the mast itself, as fore course or main course.

Building Trades. a continuous and usually horizontal range of bricks, shingles, etc., as in a wall or roof.

one of the pairs of strings on an instrument of the lute family, tuned in unison or in octaves to increase the volume.

the row of stitches going across from side to side in knitting and other needlework (opposed to wale).

Often courses . the menses.

a charge by knights in a tournament.

a pursuit of game with dogs by sight rather than by scent.

golf course.

a race.

verb (used with object), coursed, cours·ing.

to run through or over.

to chase; pursue.

to hunt (game) with dogs by sight rather than by scent.

to cause (dogs) to pursue game by sight rather than by scent.

Masonry. to lay (bricks, stones, etc.) in courses.

verb (used without object), coursed, cours·ing.

to follow a course; direct one's course.

to run, race, or move swiftly: The blood of ancient emperors courses through his veins.

to take part in a hunt with hounds, a tilting match, etc.

OTHER WORDS FOR course

1 way, road, track, passage.

13a bearing.

6 method, mode.

7 process, career.

15 row, layer.

See synonyms for course on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

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There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about course

in due course, in the proper or natural order of events; eventually: They will get their comeuppance in due course.

of course,

certainly; definitely: Of course I'll come to the party.
in the usual or natural order of things: Extra services are charged for, of course.

Origin of course

1250–1300; Middle English co(u)rs (noun) <Anglo-French co(u)rs(e), Old French cours <Latin cursus “a running, course,” equivalent to cur(rere) “to run” + -sus, variant of -tus suffix of verb action

OTHER WORDS FROM course

mul·ti·course, nounun·der·course, verb, un·der·coursed, un·der·cours·ing, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH course

coarse, course , curse

Words nearby course

courier, courlan, Courland, Cournand, Courrèges, course, course protractor, courser, courses, courseware, coursework

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use course in a sentence

And, that can hamper a site owner’s ability to fully identify patterns of problems across the entire site, export more URLs by category, and then of course, address all of those problems in a timely manner.
Google goes dark theme and passage ranking sees the light: Friday’s daily brief|Barry Schwartz|February 12, 2021|Search Engine Land
A relatively tiny spend for someone like Bezos could alter the course of how we address climate change and what we focus on globally.
Can Billionaires Really Save Us from Climate Disaster?|Heather Hansman|February 12, 2021|Outside Online
If you enter any keywords into Google Trends, you get to see how interest in that topic has increased or decreased over the course of time.
A comprehensive guide on using Google Trends for keyword research|Aayush Gupta|February 12, 2021|Search Engine Watch
Home wins over Nebraska would not do much to help Maryland’s tournament résumé, but over the course of just a few days, the Terps could significantly improve their 4-9 Big Ten record.
In schedule shuffle, Maryland will host Nebraska on back-to-back days next week|Emily Giambalvo|February 12, 2021|Washington Post

Over the course of 2020, the paid search team drove a 137 percent year-over-year increase in CTR through keyword audits, URL audits, ongoing performance optimizations, and flexible allocation of budget to the most efficient keywords.
Case study: Schneider Electric’s digital transformation through centralized search|Evan Kent and Kimberly Dutcher|February 11, 2021|Search Engine Watch
Its biggest asset, of course, is the steely Atwell, who never asks you to feel sorry for Carter despite all the sexism around her.
Marvel’s ‘Agent Carter’ Stomps on the Patriarchy|Melissa Leon|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The U.S. military has said it is too early to make any conclusions, other than the war is on course.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War|Nancy A. Youssef|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“Competition is there, of course, but I think there is enough business for everyone as long as the demand is there,” he says.
Ghost Ships of the Mediterranean|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
All of these far future speculations, of course, depend on a series of “ifs.”
Men Will Someday Have Kids Without Women|Samantha Allen|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And of course, Rod, being Rod, goes for it a hundred percent; his mouth drops open and he says, ‘What?’
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And she would be wearing some of the jewels with the white dress—just a few, not many, of course.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson
Of course, considerations of weight have to be taken into account, but the more mould round the roots the better.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
Of course the expression of this value is modified and characterized by the nature of the thing spoken of.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
What course was taken to supply that assembly when any noble family became extinct?
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
Of course it is only the hardiest Ferns which can be expected to grow well in the town garden.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin

British Dictionary definitions for course

course

/ (kɔːs) /

noun

a continuous progression from one point to the next in time or space; onward movementthe course of his life

a route or direction followedthey kept on a southerly course

the path or channel along which something movesthe course of a river
(in combination)a watercourse

an area or stretch of land or water on which a sport is played or a race is runa golf course

a period of time; durationin the course of the next hour

the usual order of and time required for a sequence of events; regular procedurethe illness ran its course

a mode of conduct or actionif you follow that course, you will certainly fail

a connected series of events, actions, etc

a prescribed number of lessons, lectures, etc, in an educational curriculum
the material covered in such a curriculum

a prescribed regimen to be followed for a specific period of timea course of treatment

a part of a meal served at one timethe fish course

a continuous, usually horizontal, layer of building material, such as a row of bricks, tiles, etc

nautical any of the sails on the lowest yards of a square-rigged ship

knitting the horizontal rows of stitchesCompare wale 1 (def. 2b)

(in medieval Europe) a charge by knights in a tournament

a hunt by hounds relying on sight rather than scent
a match in which two greyhounds compete in chasing a hare

the part or function assigned to an individual bell in a set of changes

archaic a running race

as a matter of course as a natural or normal consequence, mode of action, or event

the course of nature the ordinary course of events

in course of in the process ofthe ship was in course of construction

in due course at some future time, esp the natural or appropriate time

of course

(adverb) as expected; naturally
(sentence substitute) certainly; definitely

run its course or take its course (of something) to complete its development or action

verb

(intr) to run, race, or flow, esp swiftly and without interruption

to cause (hounds) to hunt by sight rather than scent or (of hounds) to hunt (a quarry) thus

(tr) to run through or over; traverse

(intr) to take a direction; proceed on a course

Word Origin for course

C13: from Old French cours, from Latin cursus a running, from currere to run

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with course

course

In addition to the idiom beginning with course

course of true love never ran smoothly, the

also see:

crash course
in due course
matter of course
of course
par for the course
run its course
stay the course

course

OTHER WORDS FOR course

Idioms about course

Origin of course

OTHER WORDS FROM course

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH course

Words nearby course

Words related to course

How to use course in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for course

Word Origin for course

Other Idioms and Phrases with course