lawsuit
Americannoun
-
lawsuits
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lawsuit
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How does lawsuit compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A lawsuit is the result of a disagreement that ends up in court. A long-running feud between neighbors about a flock of chickens and a barking dog might eventually end up as a lawsuit. If someone files a lawsuit against you, you become a defendant, while they are the plaintiff. Lawsuits are always part of civil law, rather than criminal cases, involving something some kind of financial or personal loss. When you're embroiled in a lawsuit, you'll probably need to hire a lawyer. This legal term dates from the 17th century.
Vocabulary lists containing lawsuit
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:
“It forces the guys with the money to come to the table,” said former NFL cornerback Mark Collins, a plaintiff in an antitrust lawsuit in the early 1990s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2026
In his lawsuit, he argued that an “academic dishonesty” record could affect college admissions and more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026
The lawsuit filed in a California federal court on Monday said Huang and Nvidia misled shareholders about the national security concerns raised by the affair, and that their misleading statements "artificially inflated" Nvidia's share price.
From Barron's ● Nov. 10, 2026
Green that a grieving mother could bring a Bivens lawsuit against federal prison officials whose deliberate indifference to her son’s asthma attack caused his death.
From Slate ● Nov. 10, 2026
The Supreme Court did not reach the merits of the case, ruling instead that the plaintiffs lacked the legal right even to file the lawsuit.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Kalshi and Polymarket are facing a number of lawsuits from U.S. states accusing them of operating illegal gambling platforms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026
Miller and Cunningham later traded lawsuits other over rights and compensation issues related to the movie.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026
The project also faces lawsuits from a group of veterans, the city of Washington and the state of Virginia.
From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2026
The lawsuits argue those guardrails are easy to get around.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026
Mom and Dad weren’t the type to go around filing lawsuits.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
