plaintiff
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of plaintiff
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English plaintif “complaining person,” noun use of the adjective; see plaintive
Explanation
In a courtroom, the plaintiff is the person or group who is accusing another person or group of some wrongdoing. If you’re the plaintiff, you are claiming that a law was broken, and you’re in court to present your case. The plaintiff accuses, the defendant tries to prove that accusation wrong. You’ve seen this relationship on television shows about lawyers, or maybe you’ve been to court yourself. The Old French root word translates as “complain” and the Latin root is literally “beating of the breast,” or explaining your grief in a dramatic way. Plaintiff shares roots with the adjective plaintive, which describes a sorrowful sound. The plaintiff made a plaintive cry when the defendant was declared not guilty.
Vocabulary lists containing plaintiff
Twelve Days in May
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A Tale of Two Cities
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Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
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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.
One 2009 case, in which Communities for a Better Environment was also a plaintiff, argued in part that the program would lead to disproportionate pollution in vulnerable communities.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 7, 2026
The dissent also claims the Court’s ruling leaves the plaintiff “without a remedy for the significant harms he has suffered.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026
In a March lawsuit, the federal government said there were still 482 agents in Minnesota, according to the plaintiff, ACLU-MN.
From BBC • Jun. 25, 2026
The second part of the joke is the identity of the plaintiff.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2026
In addition to serving as a plaintiff in the lawsuit against state officials, she gave a statement to police to support the case against the Mosses.’”
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
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.
