tort

[tawrt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tort ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Law.

a wrongful act, not including a breach of contract or trust, that results in injury to another's person, property, reputation, or the like, and for which the injured party is entitled to compensation.

Origin of tort

1350–1400; Middle English: injury, wrong < Old French < Medieval Latin tortum wrong, injustice, noun use of neuter of Latin tortus twisted, crooked, dubious, past participle of torquēre to twist, wring

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tort

Contemporary Examples of tort

Most companies want expanded free-trade deals and tort reform.
Mystery Solved: Here’s Why Big Business Keeps Supporting Republicans Even as Republicans Destroy the Economy
Daniel Gross
October 3, 2013
Maybe they'd have saved Medicare Advantage from cuts, gotten some sort of tort reform thrown in, or slightly changed the pay-fors.
How Could the GOP Have Improved Obamacare?
Megan McArdle
May 10, 2013
Many of them instead become the kind of nuisance-lawsuit filer that makes the tort system a costly nightmare.
Making Law School Less Terrible
Ilana Glazer
February 8, 2013
That's when a tort lawyer-sponsored group called the Audi Victims Network alleged the Audi 5000 accelerated of its own volition.
Toyota's a Victim, Not a Villain
Eric Dezenhall
February 13, 2011
I was pleased to see President Obama talk about tort reform, banning earmarks, tax simplification, and a spending freeze.
Ducking the Tough Issues
Mark McKinnon
January 25, 2011

Historical Examples of tort

He has been equally just to the Duc de Guines in his affair with Tort.
Memoirs Of The Court Of Marie Antoinette, Queen Of France, Complete
Madame Campan
"I think—I'm not quite sure—I think that's a tort," said Sam.
The Girl on the Boat
Pelham Grenville Wodehouse
It was an action on the case (tort), against a common hoyman.
The Common Law
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Will no one help to pull the tort'ring arrow From his breast?
The Life of Friedrich Schiller
Thomas Carlyle
If you commit a tort, you are liable to pay a compensatory sum.
The Path of the Law
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

British Dictionary definitions for tort

tort

noun

law a civil wrong arising from an act or failure to act, independently of any contract, for which an action for personal injury or property damages may be brought

Word Origin for tort

C14: from Old French, from Medieval Latin tortum, literally: something twisted, from Latin torquēre to twist

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

Word Origin and History for tort

mid-13c., "injury, wrong," from Old French tort (11c.), from Medieval Latin tortum "injustice," noun use of neuter of tortus "wrung, twisted," past participle of Latin torquere "turn, turn awry, twist, wring, distort" (see thwart). Legal sense of "breach of a duty, whereby someone acquires a right of action for damages" is first recorded 1580s.