court

I UK [kɔː(r)t] / US [kɔrt] noun
Word forms "court":
singular court plural courts
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1) [countable/uncountable] legal a place where trials take place and legal cases are decided, especially in front of a judge and a jury or a magistrate.

in court:

The letter was read aloud in court.

appear in court:

Duggan will appear in court on Monday.

a) the court

[singular] the people in a court, especially the judge and jury

A police officer told the court that he had seen Brown leaving the house.

the evidence before the court (= being considered by the court)

b) [only before noun] done by a court or relating to a court

They are dropping their court case against him.

She got a court injunction banning her husband from her home.

c) [uncountable] used for referring to the process of taking a legal action against someone

go to court (= begin a court case):

She threatened to go to court if he did not pay up.

take someone to court (= begin a case against someone):

Lynn took her employers to court for compensation.

come to court (= start to be discussed in court):

It took five years for the case to come to court.

settle out of court (= agree to pay someone in order to avoid a court case):

Mr Lodge settled out of court for £50,000.

d) the courts

[plural] the system of courts that decide legal cases

You can always try to get your money back through the courts.

The courts ruled that the company are entitled to make a fair profit.

••

See:

court of appeal

2) [countable] an area marked with lines where some sports are played, such as tennis and squash

tennis/squash/basketball/badminton court:

The hotel has two tennis courts.

on court:

The players had been on court for over two hours.

3)

a) [countable/uncountable] the place where a king or queen lives and works

b) the court

[singular] a king or queen, together with their family and their servants, advisers etc

an influential member of the court of Henry VIII

4) Court used in the names of large houses or blocks of flats

They live at 27 Mallory Court.

5) [countable] a courtyard

•

- hold court

See:

pay I

II UK [kɔː(r)t] / US [kɔrt] verb
Word forms "court":
present tense I/you/we/they court he/she/it courts present participle courting past tense courted past participle courted

1) [transitive] to try to impress or please someone because you want them to help you in some way

politicians courting middle-class voters

Suddenly, she's being courted by newspapers and television reporters every night.

2) [transitive] to make special efforts to get something that will benefit you

For years they had been courting influence in Britain's major companies.

court publicity/popularity:

He courted publicity and then complained about his loss of privacy.

3) [transitive] to behave in a way that is likely to bring a bad result

court disaster/danger/scandal:

To ignore her advice would be courting disaster.

4) [intransitive/transitive] old-fashioned to have a romantic relationship with someone, especially someone that you get married to later