court

1 of 2

noun

ˈkȯrt

plural courts

often attributive

Synonyms of court next

: the residence or establishment of a sovereign or similar dignitary

riding to the king's court

: a sovereign's formal assembly of councillors and officers

The king held a general court.

: the sovereign and officers and advisers who are the governing power

The court has decided against the alliance.

: the family and retinue of a sovereign

The court enjoyed the tournament.

: a reception held by a sovereign

a(1)

: a manor house or large building surrounded by usually enclosed grounds

Hampton Court

(2)

: motel

: an open space enclosed wholly or partly by buildings or circumscribed by a single building

the court at the center of the palace

: a quadrangular space walled or marked off for playing one of various games with a ball (such as tennis, handball, or basketball)

also : a division of such a court

: a wide alley with only one opening onto a street

: an official assembly for the transaction of judicial business see also court-packing, pack the court

: a session of such a court

The court is now adjourned.

: a place (such as a chamber) for the administration of justice

sat quietly in the back of the court

verb

courted; courting; courts

transitive verb

: to seek to gain or achieve

court power

b(1)

: allure, tempt

mountain streams courting the fishermen

(2)

: to act so as to invite or provoke

courts disaster

: to seek the affections of

especially : to seek to win a pledge of marriage from

of an animal : to perform actions in order to attract for mating

a male bird courting a female

: to seek to attract (as by solicitous attention or offers of advantages)

college teams courting high school basketball stars

Both candidates were courting the independent voters.

: to seek an alliance with

intransitive verb

: to engage in social activities leading to engagement and marriage

of an animal : to engage in activity leading to mating

a pair of robins courting in the trees

Example Sentences

Noun Court is now in session. Court is adjourned for the day. There was a large group of protesters outside the court. a lawyer who has appeared in courts around the country The case is before the state's highest court. She's a judge on an appellate court. The prosecution has new evidence to submit to the court. Please explain to the court what happened that night. The court ruled the law unconstitutional. The court reversed the lower court's decision. Verb The couple courted for two years before marrying. He was courting his college sweetheart. a pair of robins courting The male will sometimes court the female for hours. college teams courting high school basketball stars The speech was clearly intended to court middle-class voters. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Brown died in 1999 in Las Vegas without leaving any mention of a wife in court records, police said in the Facebook post. —

Julianne Mcshane, NBC News, 31 May 2023 Adam Montgomery’s wife, Kayla Montgomery, is scheduled to testify against her husband after pleading guilty to perjury charges last year, according to court records. —

John R. Ellement, BostonGlobe.com, 31 May 2023 According to court records in his case, the man allegedly robbed an undercover agent at gunpoint in the parking lot of the Serra Mesa Walmart on Murphy Canyon Road. —

Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 May 2023 Rosas was also eventually taken back into custody, according to court records. —

Cara Tabachnick, CBS News, 31 May 2023 Elizabeth Holmes Is Pregnant with Her Second Baby, It Is Revealed, as She's Sentenced to 11 Years Holmes had asked the court for a sentence of 18 months of house arrest. —

Kc Baker, Peoplemag, 30 May 2023 Or take on family and friends on the pickleball court or the putting green. —

Allie Beth Allman & Associates, Dallas News, 30 May 2023 Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed an emergency motion Tuesday asking the Arkansas Supreme Court to reverse a lower court ruling that temporary blocked the LEARNS Act from taking effect. —

Neal Earley, Arkansas Online, 30 May 2023 Lopez Lopez, who was 4 months pregnant, was later pronounced dead at the scene, according to court documents. —

Aidan Wohl, The Arizona Republic, 30 May 2023

Verb

Even so, he’s been courted by political hopefuls, including Cruz, and his theories have been routinely elevated by others in the Texas GOP. —

Robert Downen, Chron, 4 May 2023 After meeting Charles through her sister, Lady Sarah, the two began courting in 1980 and wed at St. Paul's Cathedral the following year. —

Charlotte Walsh, Peoplemag, 3 May 2023 Marker courted town Republicans and Democrats alike in his bid for another term. —

Jim Masters, Chicago Tribune, 3 May 2023 Vice’s brash reporting style helped define a new era of news, starting in the mid-2000s, that courted a younger audience, while drawing hundreds of millions of dollars in investments from establishment media companies, including Disney and Fox. —

Aurora Almendral, Quartz, 2 May 2023 Over the past few weeks, he’s visited other states and even Washington, D.C., courting Republicans and gloating about his radical agenda in Florida. —

Prem Thakker, The New Republic, 24 Apr. 2023 In addition to the coasters, Haines recently courted fan attention by, at times, using up to three mugs on the table in front of her. —

Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 4 Apr. 2023 Traditional football powers were courting him hard. —

Michelle Gardner, The Arizona Republic, 30 Mar. 2023 The choice of the Central Texas city is likely a dog whistle to far-right extremists and conspiracy theorists who support the former president, and who Trump has increasingly courted in the last two years, several extremism experts told me for this story. —

Will Carless, USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'court.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French curt, court, from Latin cohort-, cohors enclosure, group, retinue, cohort, from co- + -hort-, -hors (akin to hortus garden) — more at yard

First Known Use

Noun

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Verb

1567, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of court was in the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Phrases Containing court

Cite this Entry

Style

“Court.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/court. Accessed 9 Jun. 2023.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

court

1 of 2 noun

ˈkō(ə)rt

ˈkȯ(ə)rt

: the residence of a ruler and especially a king or queen

: a ruler's formal assembly of advisers and officers as a governing body

: the family and followers of a ruler

: an open space completely or partly surrounded by buildings

: a space for playing a ball game

a tennis court

: a wide alley with only one opening onto a street

: an assembly for carrying out judicial business

: a session of a judicial assembly

court is now adjourned

: a building or room where legal cases are heard

: a judge in session

: attention designed to win favor

pay court to the king

court

2 of 2 verb

: to try to gain

court favor

: to act so as to invite or provoke

court disaster

: to seek the affections or favor of

the candidate courted the voters

: to engage in a social relationship usually leading to marriage

: to engage in activity leading to mating

a pair of robins courting

Legal Definition

court

noun

ˈkōrt

: an official assembly for the administration of justice : a unit of the judicial branch of government

the judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish—

U.S. Constitution art. III

: a session of such a court

usually capitalized : the Supreme Court of the United States

: a place (as a building, hall, or room) for the administration of justice

order in the court

: a judge or judges acting in official capacity

an issue to be decided by the court

the court may neither preside at nor attend the meeting of creditors—

J. H. Williamson

usually capitalized : a legislative body

the General Court of Massachusetts

: a body (as the International Court of Justice) exercising judicial powers over its members or the members of a body represented by it