sue
verb (used with object)
to institute a process in law against; bring a civil action against.
had sued
-
past perfectof sue.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
In May, Meta settled for an undisclosed amount with a school district that had sued it for negatively impacting students, so much so that schools incurred costs related to student welfare.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
A Missouri man had sued, claiming a chemical in Roundup called glyphosate caused his cancer, and won $1.25 million in court.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
Musk’s AI unit had sued OpenAI last year for allegedly taking xAI’s trade secrets and poaching its employees.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
Novo Nordisk had sued Hims & Hers after the U.S. company announced a plan to sell an oral version of Novo’s new weight-loss pill Wegovy.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 9, 2026
The fact that no one had sued over the growth or ownership of the HeLa cell line, he said, illustrated that patients didn’t mind when doctors took their cells and turned them into commercial products.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
