course

noun \ ˈkȯrs \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

1 : the act or action of moving in a path from point to point

the planets in their courses

2 : the path over which something moves or extends: such as

a : racecourse

b (1) : the direction of travel of a vehicle (such as a ship or airplane) usually measured as a clockwise angle from north; also : the projected path of travel

(2) : a point of the compass

c : watercourse

d : golf course

3 a : accustomed procedure or normal action

the law taking its course

b : a chosen manner of conducting oneself : way of acting

Our wisest course is to retreat.

c (1) : progression through a development or period or a series of acts or events

the course of history

(2) : life history, career

4 : an ordered process or succession: such as

a : a number of lectures or other matter dealing with a subject

took a course in zoology

; also : a series of such courses constituting a curriculum

a premed course

b : a series of doses or medications administered over a designated period

5 a : a part of a meal served at one time

the main course

b : layer; especially : a continuous level range of brick or masonry throughout a wall

c : the lowest sail on a square-rigged mast

— in due course

: after a normal passage of time : in the expected or allotted time

His discoveries led in due course to new forms of treatment.

— of course

1 : following the ordinary way or procedure

will be done as a matter of course

2 : as might be expected

Of course we will go.

See course defined for English-language learners

See course defined for kids

Examples of course in a Sentence

the course of a river
The pilot brought the plane back on course.
The ship was blown off course by a storm.
She's taking a chemistry course this semester.
Students earn the degree after a two-year course of study.
There is no cure, but the treatment will slow the course of the disease.

Recent Examples of course from the Web

As the sun continues its (very slow) creep to its seasonal peak, bombshell leg reveals are quickly becoming par for the course on the red carpet and the street alike.

— calin van paris, Vogue, "Only Kristen Stewart and Stella Maxwell Could Make Tiny Shorts and Endless Legs Look This Good," 13 Apr. 2018
These psychological sleights of hand aren’t all new, of course.

— haley sweetland edwards, Time, "You're Addicted to Your Smartphone. This Company Thinks It Can Change That," 13 Apr. 2018
Is this just par for the course for a rebuilding team or is this a real shortcoming for the young GM?

— brad biggs, chicagotribune.com, "Bears Q&A: Why was Cameron Meredith allowed to leave? Where to play Cody Whitehair? Plus draft questions," 12 Apr. 2018
The people who might want to buy the flats that do not yet exist are, of course, not being consulted.

— The Economist, "The property battle in Vancouver’s Chinatown," 12 Apr. 2018
The Pats, of course, have a starting quarterback, but there is no clear successor in line for 40-year-old Tom Brady.

— gentry estes, The Courier-Journal, "New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on Louisville's Lamar Jackson: 'He's a beast!'," 12 Apr. 2018
And of course, the leaks after Comey’s firing were eventually followed by Mueller’s appointment.

— andrew prokop, Vox, "Trump would love to fire Mueller. But here’s why he’s been afraid to so far.," 12 Apr. 2018
Be-bop is, of course, a source of sound poetry inspiration.

— mark swed, latimes.com, "The extravagance of gabble: At the Other Minds Festival, sound poets find their own beat," 12 Apr. 2018
Her writing voice—at turns incredibly smart and homegirl slick—will slide right into black feminist cannon along with bell hooks’ Talking Back, Joan Morgan’s When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost and, of course, Audre Lorde’s Sister Outsider.

— angela helm, The Root, "Brittney Cooper Talks Beyoncé, White Feminists and Black Women’s Oh-So-Eloquent Rage," 12 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'course.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of course

Middle English, from Anglo-French curs, course, from Latin cursus, from currere to run — more at car

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

course Synonyms

Synonyms

operation, procedure, proceeding, process;

Related Words

drill, routine;

fashion, form, manner, method, mode, style, system, technique, way;

approach, arrangement, blueprint, design, formula, game plan, ground plan, layout, plan, plot, program, project, recipe, scheme, strategy;

course

verb

coursed; coursing

transitive verb

1 : to follow close upon : pursue

2 a : to hunt or pursue (game) with hounds

b : to cause (dogs) to run (as after game)

3 : to run or move swiftly through or over : traverse

Jets coursed the area daily.

intransitive verb

: to run or pass rapidly along or as if along an indicated path

blood coursing through the veins

See course defined for English-language learners

Examples of course in a Sentence

the blood coursing through my veins
Tears were coursing down his cheeks.

Recent Examples of course from the Web

The sense of how others view us is read not just by the head but by the hormones coursing through our bodies and the rhythm of our hearts.

— susan pinker, WSJ, "Smiles Hide Many Messages—Some Unfriendly," 5 Apr. 2018
The scientists estimated water coursed over the escarpment through Noto Canyon, flowing at up to 160 kilometers per hour and spilling over a 1.5-kilometer-high waterfall into the Mediterranean’s briny eastern basin.

— katherine kornei, Scientific American, "A Megaflood-Powered Mile-High Waterfall Refilled the Mediterranean [Video]," 26 Mar. 2018
The toxic levels of lead that coursed through her bloodstream didn't kill the bird, which was found injured south of Charlotte in Chester County, South Carolina.

— bruce henderson, charlotteobserver, "Lead poisoned the bald eagle's bloodstream. But here's why she was luckier than some. | Charlotte Observer," 27 Mar. 2018
The hope in his words, in his voice, coursed through me.

— esme rice, WIRED, "March For Our Lives: One High School Student's Experience," 25 Mar. 2018
There’s a palpable sense of missing out -- or FOMO in today’s vernacular -- coursing through the community of leveraged-loan bankers: When Morgan Stanley was named an adviser to Uber on the transaction, some of its rivals fumed in private.

— Bloomberg.com, "Uber’s $1.5 Billion Debt Deal Touches a Nerve on Wall Street," 21 Mar. 2018
But the routine belied anxieties coursing through some levels of Chinese society about the possibility of a return to dictatorship after decades of collective leadership and institutionalized transfers of power.

— jonathan kaiman, latimes.com, "China's parliament opens amid possibility of lifelong rule by President Xi Jinping," 6 Mar. 2018
Irregular holes riddle its surface, along with ugly brown spots tinged in yellow—the effects of a toxin produced by the SDS fungus that courses through the plant, robbing it of its pods and chewing up the leaves from the inside out.

— marla broadfoot, Scientific American, "Is This the Next Green Revolution?," 22 Aug. 2017
Natalio Rodriguez and his neighbors had all those stories coursing through their veins.

— sam petulla, CNN, "'We are the forgotten people': It's been almost six months since Hurricane Maria, and Puerto Ricans are still dying," 15 Mar. 2018

Origin and Etymology of course

see ¹course

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

course Synonyms

Phrases

beat it, get a move on, make tracks, shake a leg, step on it;

COURSE Defined for English Language Learners

course

noun

: the path or direction that something or someone moves along
: a path or route that runners, skiers, bikers, etc., move along especially in a race
: a series of classes about a particular subject in a school

course

verb

: to move or flow quickly

COURSE Defined for Kids

course

noun \ ˈkȯrs \

1 : motion from one point to another : progress in space or time

The earth makes its course around the sun in 365 days.

During the course of a year he meets dozens of people.

2 : the path over which something moves

The ship was blown off course.

3 : a natural channel for water

A trail follows the river's course.

4 : a way of doing something

Choose a course of action.

5 : the ordinary way something happens over time

the course of business

6 : a series of acts or proceedings arranged in regular order

a course of therapies

7 : a series of classes in a subject

a geography course

8 : a part of a meal served separately

We ate a three course dinner.

— of course

: as might be expected

You know, of course, that I like you.

Word Root of course

The Latin word currere, meaning “to run,” and its form cursus give us the roots curr and curs. Words from the Latin currere have something to do with running. A current is the direction in which a river runs or flows. When two people concur, their ideas or opinions run together in agreement. A course is the path over which something moves or runs.