courting

[kawr-ting]

noun

1. the act or process of trying to win the favor or attention of a person or group.

   He seems to understand the importance of social issues for youth, judging by his recent courting of young people to bring them into Russian politics.

2. the act of seeking or cultivating someone’s love or affection; wooing.

   Soon after landing the job, he stepped up his courting of the beautiful Dorothy, who was also being pursued by someone else.

3. (of animals) the act or process of attempting to attract a mate by engaging in certain species-specific behaviors.

   The chilly air blowing through the cracks in the wall, and the audible courting of peeper frogs, made it hard to doze off.

4. the act of behaving in such a manner as to cause or lead to a specified result.

   In a particularly nerve-wracking courting of disaster, he climbed the mountain alone in winter using a completely untried route.

adjective

1. seeking or cultivating the love or affection of another person or of each other.

   Covered bridges were known as "kissing bridges," as courting couples were prone to stop and steal a kiss while hidden from view inside.

2. (of animals) attempting to attract a mate.

   Courting petrels make a henlike clucking and thrust their heads back as far as they can.

Other Word Forms

• uncourting adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of courting¹

First recorded in 1575–85; court ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun senses; court ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses

Example Sentences

Both Nvidia and Google are courting potential customers and offering them financing arrangements to help ease the purchase of their chips.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Of course, being Colored, my daughters were excluded from the social activities of White society, including those in which women would prepare their daughters for the world of courting and marriage.

Read more on Literature

Political figures and media personalities on the right have moved from simply courting religious conservatives to openly embracing Christian nationalist rhetoric, framing policy debates as a form of spiritual warfare.

Read more on Salon

But even within the Big Ten, not everyone agrees that courting private equity money is the way forward.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Brazil is courting $125 billion from governments and private financiers for a global investment fund that proposes making annual payments to developing countries for every hectare of forest they keep standing.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• allure 
• appeal 
• attractiveness 
• interest