- court
- I [[t]kɔ͟ː(r)t[/t]]
NOUN USES
♦courts1) N-COUNT: oft n N, N n, also in/at N A court is a place where legal matters are decided by a judge and jury or by a magistrate.
At this rate, we could find ourselves in the divorce courts!
...a county court judge...
He was deported on a court order following a conviction for armed robbery...
The 28-year-old striker was in court last week for breaking a rival player's jaw.
2) N-COUNT You can refer to the people in a court, especially the judge, jury, or magistrates, as a court.A court at Tampa, Florida has convicted five officials on charges of handling millions of dollars earned from illegal drugs deals.
3) N-COUNT: usu supp N, also on/off N A court is an area in which you play a game such as tennis, basketball, badminton, or squash.The hotel has several tennis and squash courts...
Graf watched a few of the games while waiting to go on court against Tauziat.
4) N-COUNT: oft with poss, also at N The court of a king or queen is the place where he or she lives and carries out ceremonial or administrative duties.She came to visit England, where she was presented at the court of James I...
Their family was certainly well regarded at court.
5) N-IN-NAMES: n N In Britain, Court is used in the names of large houses and blocks of flats....7 Ivebury Court, Latimer Rd, London W10 6RA.
6) → See also , High Court, kangaroo court7) PHRASE: V inflects If you go to court or take someone to court, you take legal action against them.They have received at least twenty thousand pounds each but had gone to court to demand more.
...members of trade associations who want to take bad debtors to court.
8) V PHR Your day in court is your chance to give your side of an argument or other matter. [mainly AM]He knew that this would be his day in court - his last chance to explain why he acted as he did...
We knew from the very beginning that it was a question of freedom of speech. All we wanted was our day in court.
9) PHRASE: V inflects If someone holds court in a place, they are surrounded by a lot of people who are paying them a lot of attention because they are interesting or famous....in the days when Marlene Dietrich and Ernest Hemingway held court in the famous El Floridita club.
10) PHRASE: V inflects If you laugh someone out of court, you say that their opinions or ideas are so ridiculous that they are not worth considering.It's easy for a younger generation of critics to laugh Limon out of court...
Polytechnic lecturers have asked for 12.5 per cent, a claim sure to be laughed out of court.
11) PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR n If a legal matter is decided or settled out of court, it is decided without legal action being taken in a court of law.The Government is anxious to keep the whole case out of court.
II [[t]kɔ͟ː(r)t[/t]] VERB USES...a payment of two million pounds in an out of court settlement.
courts, courting, courted1) VERB To court a particular person, group, or country means to try to please them or improve your relations with them, often so that they will do something that you want them to do. [JOURNALISM][V n] Both Democratic and Republican parties are courting former supporters of Ross Perot...
[V n] Stars are courted by manufacturers who value their influence on style-conscious fans.
Syn:2) VERB If you court something such as publicity or popularity, you try to attract it.[V n] Having spent a lifetime avidly courting publicity, Paul has suddenly become secretive.
[V n] ...his ability to get things done, usually by manipulating, courting favour or cleverly finding a way around opponents.
3) VERB If you court something unpleasant such as disaster or unpopularity, you act in a way that makes it likely to happen.[V n] If he thinks he can remain in power by force he is courting disaster...
[V n] They argue that the commission should risk courting unpopularity and push on with its legislative programmes.
Syn:4) V-RECIP: usu cont If you are courting someone of the opposite sex, you spend a lot of time with them, because you are intending to get married. You can also say that a man and a woman are courting. [OLD-FASHIONED][V n] I was courting Billy at 19 and married him when I was 21...
[pl-n V] Derek criticised every aspect of Pauline's behaviour, something he had never done when they were courting.
[V-ing] ...an isolated spot popular with courting couples.
English dictionary. 2008.
