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  Court

  noun

  Margaret Smith, born 1942, Australian tennis player.

court

¹ American  

[kawrt] / kɔrt /

noun

• courts
  plural

1. Law.

   1. a place where justice is administered.

   2. a judicial tribunal duly constituted for the hearing and determination of cases.

   3. a session of a judicial assembly.

2. an area open to the sky and mostly or entirely surrounded by buildings, walls, etc.

3. a high interior usually having a glass roof and surrounded by several stories of galleries or the like.

4. Chiefly Irish. a stately dwelling.

5. a short street.

6. a smooth, level quadrangle on which to play tennis, basketball, etc.

7. one of the divisions of such an area.

8. the residence of a sovereign or other high dignitary; palace.

9. a sovereign's or dignitary's retinue.

10. a sovereign and councilors as the political rulers of a state.

11. a formal assembly held by a sovereign.

12. homage paid, as to a king.

13. special or devoted attention in order to win favor, affection, etc..

    to pay court to the king.

14. the body of qualified members of a corporation, council, board, etc.

15. a branch or lodge of a fraternal society.

16. Animal Behavior.

    1. an area where animals of a particular species gather to display.

    2. the group of insects, as honeybees, surrounding the queen; retinue.

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verb (used with object)

• courts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• courted,
  past participle,  past
• courting
  present participle

1. to try to win the favor, preference, or goodwill of.

   to court the rich.

2. to seek the affections of; woo.

3. (of animals) to attempt to attract (a mate) by engaging in certain species-specific behaviors.

4. to attempt to gain (applause, favor, a decision, etc.).

5. to hold out inducements to; invite.

6. to act in such a manner as to cause, lead to, or provoke.

   to court disaster by reckless driving.

verb (used without object)

• courts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• courted,
  past participle,  past
• courting
  present participle

1. to seek another's love; woo.

2. (of animals) to engage in certain species-specific behaviors in order to attract a mate.

idioms

1. hold court,

   1. to have a formal assembly of a judicial tribunal or one held by a sovereign.

   2. to be surrounded by one's disciples or admirers, giving advice, exchanging gossip, receiving compliments, etc.

2. out of court,

   1. without a legal hearing; privately.

      The case will be settled out of court.

   2. out of the question; undeserving of discussion.

      This wild scheme is entirely out of court.

Court ² American  

[kawrt, kohrt] / kɔrt, koʊrt /

noun

1. Margaret Smith, born 1942, Australian tennis player.

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court ¹ British  

/ kɔːt /

noun

1. an area of ground wholly or partly surrounded by walls or buildings

2. (capital when part of a name)

   1. a block of flats

      Selwyn Court

   2. a mansion or country house

   3. a short street, sometimes closed at one end

3. a space inside a building, sometimes surrounded with galleries

4. 1. the residence, retinues, or household of a sovereign or nobleman

   2. ( as modifier )

      a court ball

5. a sovereign or prince and his retinue, advisers, etc

6. any formal assembly, reception, etc, held by a sovereign or nobleman with his courtiers

7. homage, flattering attention, or amorous approaches (esp in the phrase pay court to someone )

8. law

   1. an authority having power to adjudicate in civil, criminal, military, or ecclesiastical matters

   2. the regular sitting of such a judicial authority

   3. the room or building in which such a tribunal sits

9. 1. a marked outdoor or enclosed area used for any of various ball games, such as tennis, squash, etc

   2. a marked section of such an area

      the service court

10. 1. the board of directors or council of a corporation, company, etc

    2. the supreme council of some universities

11. a branch of any of several friendly societies

12. to take legal action

13. to preside over admirers, attendants, etc

14. 1. without a trial or legal case

       the case was settled out of court

    2. too unimportant for consideration

    3. so as to ridicule completely (in the phrase laugh out of court )

15. you are obliged to make the next move

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verb

1. to attempt to gain the love of (someone); woo

2. (tr) to pay attention to (someone) in order to gain favour

3. (tr) to try to obtain (fame, honour, etc)

4. (tr) to invite, usually foolishly, as by taking risks

   to court disaster

5. old-fashioned to be conducting a serious emotional relationship usually leading to marriage

Court ² British  

/ kɔːt /

noun

1. Margaret (née Smith ). born 1942, Australian tennis player, winner of a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles: Australian Open champion 1960–66, 1969–71, and 1973; US Open champion 1962, 1965, 1969–70, and 1973; Wimbledon champion 1963, 1965, and 1970; French Open champion 1962, 1965, 1969–70, and 1973

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court More Idioms  

1. see ball's in your court; day in court; friend in court; hold court; kangaroo court; laugh out of court; pay court to.

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Usage

Where does court come from? Court of law. Tennis court. Courtship. Courtyard. Courtesy. Ever notice that all of these words and phrases—and many others—include court in some form? That’s no coincidence. The word court entered English around 1125–75. It comes from French, ultimately from the Latin cohors, variously meaning “farmyard, armed force, cohort, retinue.” More about that Latin noun cohors in the next section. Today, if someone says they went to court, they are referring to the place where lawyers argue cases, juries weigh evidence, and judges issue sentences. (We hope they weren’t in any trouble.) The legal senses of court are among the word’s oldest, found at least by the end of the 1200s in the sense of “assembly of judges.”Even older is the royal court. Think of those medieval princes and princesses doing their princely and princessly things in courts. Found in the mid- to late 1100s, that court originally referred to the place where a sovereign lived, as well as to an assembly that that ruler held. Whether used of royalty and law, these early senses of court—still in use today—suggest an underlying idea of an official group gathered together in an area set aside for special purposes. Speaking of physical spaces, many sports are played on courts, including basketball, volleyball, and tennis and other racquet sports. The original sports court, as far as the word is concerned, was for tennis. This draws on that basic sense of court as “an enclosed area.”Dig deeperHow are the words courtesy and courtship connected to court? Courtesy (“polite behavior”), along with the adjective courteous, comes from French words meaning “having manners fitting for the court of a prince.” Fun fact: curtsy,“a respectful bow made by women and girls, consisting of bending the knees and lowering the body,” is a variant of courtesy. Courtship stems from court in its verb sense of “to woo,” as in He courted his partner over romantic emails and text messages. Court, as a verb, can also mean “to win the favor (of another).” These senses are connected to the idea of paying court—homage, attention, and well, courtesy—to someone, as they historically would have at a court. Learn even more words about related to court at our entries for courtier and courtesan.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• outcourt
  verb (used with object)
• uncourted
  adjective
• well-courted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• courts
  plural

Participles

• courting
  present
• courted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• court
  simple
• courts
  simple
• have courted
  perfect
• has courted
  perfect
• am courting
  progressive
• are courting
  progressive
• is courting
  progressive
• have been courting
  perfect progressive
• has been courting
  perfect progressive

Past

• courted
  simple
• had courted
  perfect
• was courting
  progressive
• were courting
  progressive
• had been courting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will court
  simple
• will have courted
  perfect
• will be courting
  progressive
• will have been courting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of court

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English co(u)rt, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin cohort- (stem of cohors ) “farmyard”; see cohort

Explanation

A court is a room where justice is administered. Many popular television shows feature scenes in court, although it’s debatable whether these depictions are realistic. Court can refer not just to the courtroom but also to the judges who preside over it, as in the example of the U.S. Supreme Court. Court can also refer to monarchs and their attendants, as in the phrase "royal court." As a verb, court means “try to win the affections of someone,” as, historically, people sought to win the favor of royalty. (But if you try courting anyone in a modern courtroom, you'll probably be accused of bribery.)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

court Court courts courted courting

The court service has now published the full 15 page judgement from the judicial review.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

However, that decision was catastrophically undermined by incorrect information, missing records and an extraordinary refusal to reconsider it when the court provided an opportunity to do so.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

Lawyers for the Justice Department said in a court filing that Beatty has been a “troublemaking appointment” on the Kennedy Center board “from the beginning of her tenure!”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

The company didn’t comment specifically on the litigation but in a court filing, Lilly said studies don’t prove any GLP-1s cause NAION, and said its medicines are safe and effective.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

He went looking for court rulings, deal completions, or government regulatory changes—anything that might change the value of a company.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Court records show informants helped foil the plot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

In December, the family will return to Chesterfield Coroner's Court to hear more evidence about the circumstances around Maddy's death.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

Gen. Rob Bonta challenged the move, which is being decided by the California Supreme Court.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

She was arrested several times but was never sentenced to jail time, Ventura County Superior Court records show.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

Her quiet defiance inspired the 381-day Montgomery bus boycott, mobilizing Montgomery’s black community and resulting in a Supreme Court decision that Alabama laws requiring segregation on city buses were unconstitutional.

From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman

For anyone disappointed that the courts have apparently closed the book on whether a Reese’s pumpkin needs a face, the dispute may not be over yet.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

Their mother searched for her 20-year-old daughters everywhere, begging staff at hospitals, in courts and outside prisons for information about them, to no avail.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

The courts were told this in a sworn statement from a senior officer, a deputy director called Witness A.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Charles Rhodes, professor of law at the University of Missouri, told me the future of this lawsuit will likely come down to how the courts choose to define an “aggrieved” person.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

When we reached the outdoor courts, Teddy and Doug did that chin-jerk thing guys do.

From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence

It is not the first time Dean has courted controversy for his media statements.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker once courted data centers but now has turned them a cold shoulder.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Polls show declining support among young evangelical Christians, a group that Netanyahu has heavily courted over the years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Babitz courted danger with heedless bravado and exemplary recklessness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

Saint courted me for four years in his strange way.

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

When it comes to courting the EU, Canada appears to some to be even keener than one of the bloc's closest neighbours.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

There is a long history of outside nations courting Pacific island states for diplomatic clout.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

Garcetti was already courting Lucas and Hobson, and initially proposed that the museum replace the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

And short of guaranteeing that someone gets slapped across the face every year, count on the Oscars to try to regain its distinction while courting viewers however possible.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026

“Why would I lie? I’m not the one hiding the identity of the person courting me.”

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

Related Words

• attract
• charm
• cultivate
• entice
• invite
• please
• praise
• propose
• pursue
• seek
• solicit
• sue
• woo