court
court
/kɔːt/
law
the civil/criminal courts
Her lawyer made a statement outside the court.
in court Relatives of the dead girl were in court.
She will appear in court tomorrow.
to court They took their landlord to court for breaking the contract.
The case took five years to come to court (= to be heard by the court).
There wasn't enough evidence to bring the case to court (= start a trial).
out of court The case was settled out of court (= a decision was reached without a trial).
He won the court case and was awarded damages.
She can't pay her tax and is facing court action.
During the court hearing, the prosecutor said she would seek maximum prison sentences.
Collocations
adjective
verb + court
go to
take somebody/something to
come to…
court + verb
court + noun
preposition
at court
before a/the court
in court…
phrases
contempt of courta court of appeal
court of claims…
2 the court usually singular the people in a court, especially those who make the decisions, such as the judge and jury Please tell the court what happened.
The court heard how the man collapsed after being stabbed.
The court ruled in favour of her claim.
This is not a case to be decided by the courts.
before the court This evidence was not put before the court.
Airlines could face huge compensation bills following a court ruling on flight delays.
for sport
3 countable a place where games such as tennis and basketball are played a tennis/squash/basketball court
on court He won after only 52 minutes on court.
off court The players are good friends off court and train together.
Collocations
adjective
preposition
off (the) courton (the) court
kings/queens
the court of Queen Victoria
at court He was presented to the queen at court.
Collocations
adjective
court + noun
preposition
at (a/the) court
5 the court singular the king or queen, their family, and the people who work for them and/or give advice to them The painting shows the emperor with his court.
buildings
6 countable (also courtyard) an open space that is partly or completely surrounded by buildings and is usually part of a castle, a large house, etc. 7 (abbreviation Ct) countable used in the names of blocks of flats or apartment buildings, or of some short streets; (in the UK) used in the names of some large houses The building is situated in a medieval court at the top of Edinburgh's royal mile.
8 countable a large open section of a building, often with a glass roof Idioms
court
/kɔːt/
try to please
1 transitive court somebody to try to please somebody in order to get something you want, especially the support of a person, an organization, etc. Both candidates have spent the last month courting the media.
Collocations
adverb
try to get
2 transitive court something (formal) to try to obtain something He has never courted popularity.
invite something bad
3 transitive court something (formal) to do something that might result in something unpleasant happening to court danger/death/disaster
As a politician he has often courted controversy.
have relationship
4 transitive, intransitive court (somebody) (old-fashioned) to have a romantic relationship with somebody that you hope to marry He had been courting Jane for six months.
He courted Jane for two years before she finally agreed to marry him.
At that time they had been courting for several years.
Your grandfather and I were still courting at the time.
animals
5 court something (of a male bird or other animal) to try to attract a female
Word Origin
Middle English: from Old French cort, from Latin cohors, cohort- ‘yard or retinue’. The verb is influenced by Old Italian corteare, Old French courtoyer. Compare with cohort.