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Synonyms

plaintiff

American  
[pleyn-tif] / ˈpleɪn tɪf /

noun

Law.

  1. a person who brings suit in a court (defendant ).

plaintiff British  
/ ˈpleɪntɪf /

noun

  1. Now replaced by: claimant.  (formerly) a person who brings a civil action in a court of law Compare defendant

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
plaintiff Cultural  

  1. The party that institutes a suit in a court. The person or entity the plaintiff sues is the defendant.

Other Word Forms

  • plaintiffship noun

Etymology

Origin of plaintiff

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English plaintif “complaining person,” noun use of the adjective; plaintive

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.

A plaintiff like Gonzalez needs to show that law enforcement lacked even probable cause for an arrest.

From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026

A Los Angeles jury determined last month that Meta and Google intentionally designed their social-media platforms to be addictive, harming the mental health of a plaintiff in childhood.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

Many have sued AI firms, alleging copyright infringement; in fact, Disney is a plaintiff in some of that litigation.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026

The jury ordered the companies to pay $3 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages to the plaintiff, a now-20-year-old woman named Kaley, whose last name was redacted in the case.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

“Donte, can I make you lead plaintiff? Can I do that?”

From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

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.