plaint
Americannoun
-
a complaint.
-
Law. a statement of grievance made to a court for the purpose of asking redress.
-
a lament; lamentation.
noun
-
archaic a complaint or lamentation
-
law a statement in writing of grounds of complaint made to a court of law and asking for redress of the grievance
Etymology
Origin of plaint
1175–1225; Middle English < Middle French < Latin planctus a striking or beating (the breast) in grief, equivalent to plang ( ere ) to beat, strike, mourn for + -tus, suffix of v. action
Vocabulary lists containing plaint
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.
Mr. Cole, who seems proud that his Banana Ball has a family tree, echoes a common plaint among non-baseball fans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
“What seemed to be political fanaticism,” he writes there, “was only an excuse, a parable, a manifesto of fidelity, a coded plaint of love.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2023
Instead of breaking something open, and for all its self-conscious daring, “Beau Is Afraid” stays in a relatively safe lane as one more Portnoy-esque plaint about Mom’s inhumanity to man.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 19, 2023
Labrinth intones the title as a falsetto plaint above hollow, puffing organ chords that hark back to Brian Wilson; the beat is slow, sporadic, almost stumbling.
From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2023
“Goodman Whittlesley, will you repeat your com. plaint for this assembly?”
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
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.
