course

[ kawrs, kohrs ]

noun

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:

   as a matter of course; 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 vessel, 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 range 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 ( wale ).
18. Often courses. the menses.
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.

verb (used with object)

, coursed, cours·ing.

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 courses.

verb (used without object)

, coursed, cours·ing.

1. to follow a course; direct one's course.
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.

course

/ 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 matter of course
    as a matter of course as a natural or normal consequence, mode of action, or event
20. the course of nature
    the course of nature the ordinary course of events
21. in course of
    in course of in the process of

    the ship was in course of construction

22. in due course
    in due course at some future time, esp the natural or appropriate time
23. of course
    of course
    1. adverb as expected; naturally
    2. sentence substitute certainly; definitely
24. run its course
    run its coursetake its course (of something) to complete its development or action

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

Other Words From

• multi·course noun
• under·course verb undercoursed undercoursing noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of course¹

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”; current ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of course¹

C13: from Old French cours, from Latin cursus a running, from currere to run

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

   They will get their comeuppance in due course.

2. of course,
   1. certainly; definitely:

      Of course I'll come to the party.

   2. in the usual or natural order of things:

      Extra services are charged for, of course.

More idioms and phrases containing course

In addition to the idiom beginning with course , also see crash course ; in due course ; matter of course ; of course ; par for the course ; run its course ; stay the course .

Example Sentences

And, that can hamper a site owner’s ability to fully identify patterns of problems across the entire site, export more URLs by category, and then of course, address all of those problems in a timely manner.

From Search Engine Land

A relatively tiny spend for someone like Bezos could alter the course of how we address climate change and what we focus on globally.

From Outside Online

If you enter any keywords into Google Trends, you get to see how interest in that topic has increased or decreased over the course of time.

From Search Engine Watch

Home wins over Nebraska would not do much to help Maryland’s tournament résumé, but over the course of just a few days, the Terps could significantly improve their 4-9 Big Ten record.

From Washington Post

Over the course of 2020, the paid search team drove a 137 percent year-over-year increase in CTR through keyword audits, URL audits, ongoing performance optimizations, and flexible allocation of budget to the most efficient keywords.

From Search Engine Watch

Its biggest asset, of course, is the steely Atwell, who never asks you to feel sorry for Carter despite all the sexism around her.

From The Daily Beast

The U.S. military has said it is too early to make any conclusions, other than the war is on course.

From The Daily Beast

“Competition is there, of course, but I think there is enough business for everyone as long as the demand is there,” he says.

From The Daily Beast

All of these far future speculations, of course, depend on a series of “ifs.”

From The Daily Beast

And of course, Rod, being Rod, goes for it a hundred percent; his mouth drops open and he says, ‘What?’

From The Daily Beast

And she would be wearing some of the jewels with the white dress—just a few, not many, of course.

From Project Gutenberg

Of course, considerations of weight have to be taken into account, but the more mould round the roots the better.

From Project Gutenberg

Of course the expression of this value is modified and characterized by the nature of the thing spoken of.

From Project Gutenberg

What course was taken to supply that assembly when any noble family became extinct?

From Project Gutenberg

Of course it is only the hardiest Ferns which can be expected to grow well in the town garden.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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