courtship
Americannoun
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courtships
plural
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the wooing of one person by another.
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the period during which such wooing takes place.
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solicitation of favors, applause, etc.
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Ethology. behavior in animals that occurs before and during mating, often including elaborate displays.
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Obsolete. courtly behavior; courtesy; gallantry.
noun
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the act, period, or art of seeking the love of someone with intent to marry
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the seeking or soliciting of favours
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obsolete courtly behaviour
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of courtship
Explanation
A courtship is a period in a romantic couple's relationship when they are dating. Most partners go through a courtship before deciding to get married. Courtship is an old-fashioned word, assuming that two people who love each other will eventually get married. If your uncle and aunt only met a few weeks before their wedding, you can say they had a brief courtship — and if you have friends who aren't married but have been together for years, you could describe their decades-long courtship. The word is indeed old-fashioned, from the 16th century when it meant "paying court to a woman with intention of marriage."
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.
See Examples For:
Admission to this kingdom on the sea usually requires a long courtship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
The couple spent their courtship sharing fun Covid-era activities, like stealing toilet paper, enjoying empty cinemas and stadiums, and taking selfies in front of dumpster fires, all to the tune of Taylor Swift’s “Love Story.”
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
From the move away from formal courtship to the arrival of dating apps and now a generation asking more questions about who should make the first move.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Except, in the midst of that project, McElwee’s focus shifts, delightfully, to his disastrous love life and the fascinating women he meets in his travels, becoming a deeply humane examination of modern courtship.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
You two having a worldwin courtship if I ever seen one.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
There are hints about the courtships between Jane and Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, but the audience stays with Mary.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
Edward Rogers took an active part in the Blue Jays’ courtships of free agents Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto in recent winters, the people familiar with the matter said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
Their courtships with Smith move quickly, to the point that Tracy's daughter Kayla became suspicious at how fast her mother was falling for this man who still felt like a stranger.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2020
Also gone was the picturesque subject matter: the street landscapes and polite courtships, the elderly couples and fumbling suitors and office workers trapped in suburban patterns, intruded upon by surrealism, like figures in Magritte paintings.
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 10, 2018
For several weeks the jolly little trail-lizards had been carrying on most enthusiastic courtships, marked with much bowing and posing, and a terrific amount of scrambling about.
From Jungle Peace by William Beebe
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.
