plaintiff
Americannoun
-
plaintiffs
plural
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.
See Examples For:
For starters, the plaintiff will need proof that the Students for Life leaders actually obtained or intended to obtain the pills.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
FBI agents were involved in a search of the mansion last week and one plaintiff in the lawsuit has been interviewed by federal agents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
The plaintiff in particular, professor Alison Hoagland, said, I regularly walk through this park.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
One plaintiff was flagged for excessive time off-task for pumping in the company’s lactation room, the lawsuit said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
“The plaintiff, meaning Mr. Hobert?” says Principal Jenkins.
From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya
In the Philippines, too, the plaintiffs want Shell to pay for its history and its size.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
The plaintiffs want Shell to pay for that additional intensity in proportion to its contribution to global emissions: two percent of the 12 percent increase.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
The plaintiffs argue that the state’s “excessive” pumping from the Delta has led more growers to plant water-intensive almond and pistachio orchards across vast stretches of the San Joaquin Valley.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
The plaintiffs also alleged that Starbucks failed to include a disclaimer around the drinks’ calorie contents as required by the Food and Drug Administration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
District Court in West Palm Beach on behalf of thirty-one Florida children, referring to most of the plaintiffs by their initials, although they used my whole name.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
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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.
