tort
Americannoun
-
torts
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of tort
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English: “injury, wrong,” from Old French, from Medieval Latin tortum “wrong, injustice,” noun use of neuter of Latin tortus “twisted, crooked, dubious,” past participle of torquēre “to twist, wring”
Explanation
If you sue a surgeon for operating on your left foot instead of the right one, you are filing a tort suit. Hopefully, you'll walk out of court victorious (on both feet). Tort comes from the Latin word tortum, meaning "wrong." When someone has done some wrong to you, you can seek justice (in the form of payment) by taking them to court. Tortum itself comes from tortus (also Latin) meaning "twisted." So remember if someone does something twisted, like spread terrible lies about you, you could pursue a tort claim.
Vocabulary lists containing tort
Twists and Turns: Tor
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Just Mercy
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The Judicial System
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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:
No one can bargain away federal tax liability in a tort settlement on any letterhead.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
Decisively linking extreme weather to emissions would bolster billion-dollar tort claims.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
The trick was to drain it of everything that makes a tort a tort: no defect, no fault, often no real proof that this defendant caused the alleged harm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
But there is a different route — tort claims.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026
I was far more excited about the prospect of my brother taking his wedding vows, in other words, than I was about reviewing what constituted a tort.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
But mass torts won’t solve this complex cultural problem.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Of course a lot of people disagree with them, but the statute is designed to give us the right to make those policy judgments,’” said Benjamin Zipursky, a Fordham University law professor who studies torts.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026
She writes about high-profile trials, lawsuits that explore novel questions, and cases that reveal legal tensions for companies, including about mass torts, technology, labor, and antitrust.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
But in mass torts, a panel of seven judges decides which federal judge will handle all federal lawsuits with similar facts.
From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2026
Rhode Island annotations to the restatement of the Law of torts.
From U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1977 July - December by Library of Congress. Copyright Office
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.
