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:
The company is considering moving tort liabilities into a separate corporate entity to unload them through a sale to an outside investor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
“So why is the state tort suit different than the state law?”
From Slate ● Oct. 5, 2026
The heads of frontier labs have said their companies could be responsible for such a mass tort, or worse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
On his bankruptcy filing, Scott describes his type of debt as “alleged tort liability,” rather than a consumer or business debt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 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
That’s why limited liability shouldn’t apply to torts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 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
Virginia annotations to the Restatement of the law of torts.
From U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1971 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.
