course

American  

[kawrs] / kɔrs /

noun

• courses
  plural

1. a direction or route taken or to be taken.

   Synonyms:

   passage, track, road, way

2. the path, route, or channel along which anything moves.

   the course of a stream.

   Synonyms:

   bearing

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

4. the continuous passage or progress through time or a succession of stages.

   in the course of a year;

   in the course of the battle.

5. the track, ground, water, etc., on which a race is run, sailed, etc..

   One runner fell halfway around the course.

6. a particular manner of proceeding.

   a course of action.

   Synonyms:

   mode, method

7. a customary manner of procedure; regular or natural order of events.

   the course of a disease.

   Synonyms:

   career, process

8. a mode of conduct; behavior.

9. a systematized or prescribed series.

   a course of lectures;

   a course of medical treatments.

10. a program of instruction, as in a college or university.

    a course in economics.

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

12. a part of a meal served at one time.

    The main course was roast chicken with mashed potatoes and peas.

13. Navigation.

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

    2. a point of the compass.

14. 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.

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

    Synonyms:

    layer, row

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

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

18. Older Use. Often courses the periodic flow of blood and mucosal tissue from the uterus; a menstrual period.

19. a charge by knights in a tournament.

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

21. golf course.

22. a race.

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verb (used with object)

• courses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• coursed,
  past participle,  past
• coursing
  present participle

1. to run through or over.

2. to chase; pursue.

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

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

5. Masonry. to lay (bricks, stones, etc.) in continuous rows.

verb (used without object)

• courses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• coursed,
  past participle,  past
• coursing
  present participle

1. to follow a direction, route, or path; direct one's path.

2. to run, race, or move swiftly.

   The blood of ancient emperors courses through his veins.

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

idioms

1. of course,

   1. certainly; definitely.

      Of course I'll come to the party.

   2. (used to convey that something is expected, unsurprising, or previously known).

      The language of the Romans was, of course, Latin.

2. in due course, in the proper or natural order of events; eventually.

   They will get their comeuppance in due course.

course British  

/ kɔːs /

noun

1. a continuous progression from one point to the next in time or space; onward movement

   the course of his life

2. a route or direction followed

   they kept on a southerly course

3. 1. the path or channel along which something moves

      the course of a river

   2. ( in combination )

      a watercourse

4. an area or stretch of land or water on which a sport is played or a race is run

   a golf course

5. a period of time; duration

   in the course of the next hour

6. the usual order of and time required for a sequence of events; regular procedure

   the illness ran its course

7. a mode of conduct or action

   if you follow that course, you will certainly fail

8. a connected series of events, actions, etc

9. 1. a prescribed number of lessons, lectures, etc, in an educational curriculum

   2. the material covered in such a curriculum

10. a prescribed regimen to be followed for a specific period of time

    a course of treatment

11. a part of a meal served at one time

    the fish course

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

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

14. knitting the horizontal rows of stitches Compare wale 1

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

16. 1. a hunt by hounds relying on sight rather than scent

    2. a match in which two greyhounds compete in chasing a hare

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

18. archaic a running race

19. as a natural or normal consequence, mode of action, or event

20. the ordinary course of events

21. in the process of

    the ship was in course of construction

22. at some future time, esp the natural or appropriate time

23. 1. (adverb) as expected; naturally

    2. (sentence substitute) certainly; definitely

24. (of something) to complete its development or action

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verb

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

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

3. (tr) to run through or over; traverse

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

course More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing course

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• multicourse
  noun
• undercourse
  verb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• courses
  plural

Participles

• coursing
  present
• coursed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• course
  simple
• courses
  simple
• have coursed
  perfect
• has coursed
  perfect
• am coursing
  progressive
• are coursing
  progressive
• is coursing
  progressive
• have been coursing
  perfect progressive
• has been coursing
  perfect progressive

Past

• coursed
  simple
• had coursed
  perfect
• was coursing
  progressive
• were coursing
  progressive
• had been coursing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will course
  simple
• will have coursed
  perfect
• will be coursing
  progressive
• will have been coursing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of course

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English co(u)rs (noun), from Anglo-French co(u)rs(e), Old French cours, from Latin cursus “race, path, orbit,” noun use of past participle of currere “to run”; cf. current ( def. )

Explanation

The noun course can refer to a series of lectures, discussions, or other lessons in a particular subject. To graduate from high school, you have to take certain courses in English, social studies, math, and science. Naturally, you want to pass them! The noun course can refer to a part of a meal. If you love chocolate, your favorite course will be dessert — it's a triple chocolate mousse! The noun course can also refer to an area laid out for a particular sport, as in a golf course or obstacle course. As a verb course can mean to move quickly over or through a certain path, especially some liquid, like when tears course down your cheeks at a sad movie. Don't confuse the spelling of course with coarse, which is an adjective meaning rough.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

course courses coursed coursing

“Who would sell grades for a stats course? Why would someone buy grades? What’s motivating them? Why wouldn’t the university be doing something about it?”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Jamar Gilbert’s Levee moves through the world as if it’s a battle zone, which of course for him it has been.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

"The stage play doesn't... monsterise Rupert Murdoch, which, of course, a lot of people do now," Boyle said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

A fifth person, a 15-year-old girl, has also been charged with perverting the course of justice.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

She already speaks two languages—her native Filipino, of course, and English, which was taught to Filipinos during the American occupation—but she wants to learn others.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Golf courses use about 30 times more water than data centers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

During her courses, she learnt about tinting, waxing, facials and massage, which was taught as a separate module.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

Countless online courses now promise to teach the ropes of content creation, while Arizona State University will be offering a new content creation major.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

During job interviews, he said, recruiters at Microsoft, Google and Uber asked about the handful of courses he took in technology and the humanities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

“I could use a breather anyhow. Puttin' in damp courses is a killer. I must be stark raving mad doin' it meself.”

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

Mohit said he kept running as a searing pain coursed through his body until he reached a café, bought a bottle of water and washed his wounds.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

My body coursed with anxiety for the entire pregnancy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025

Overflowing rivers coursed through villages, sweeping away homes, roads and bridges and triggering landslides.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2025

It took a split second for the instincts of Principal Laura Gutierrez to kick in when an earthquake coursed through Aldama Elementary School in Highland Park as she stood outside supervising recess.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2024

The fury and fear that’d coursed through her earlier had simmered to a dull headache.

From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older

The novel’s length is daunting, but the writing is swift and eventful, often expressed in coursing run-on sentences.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

South Wales Police confirmed the Vale of Glamorgan was seeing an increase in hare coursing, and said the force was taking action.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

That would be the fastest rate of growth since the fourth quarter of 2021, when COVID-era stimulus was still coursing through the economy, according to FactSet’s John Butters.

From MarketWatch ● May 17, 2026

Cook, who built Apple into a colossus with influence coursing through geopolitics, pop culture and the daily lives of billions of people, said he would step down as chief executive on Sept. 1.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026

I felt a cocktail of beautiful emotions coursing through me: peace, love, appreciation.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore

Related Words

• class
• conference
• curriculum
• interest
• lecture
• meeting
• method
• period
• preparation
• procedure
• program
• schedule
• seminar
• session
• subject