courtship

noun court·ship \ ˈkȯrt-ˌship \

|Updated on: 8 Jun 2018

Examples: courtship in a Sentence

Definition of courtship

: the act, process, or period of courting

See courtship defined for English-language learners

See courtship defined for kids

Examples of courtship in a Sentence

They had a two-year courtship before marrying.
The male of the species often displays aggression during courtship.
the President's courtship of middle-class voters

Recent Examples of courtship from the Web

Scenes alternate between Tami and Richard’s idyllic tropical courtship and the trans-Pacific sailboat delivery gig that eventually drops them into a hurricane, leaving mast and bones catastrophically shattered.

— tom russo, BostonGlobe.com, "‘Adrift’ stays on course, but it’s slow-going," 30 May 2018
After several weeks of courtship, Shire accepted Takeda’s takeover bid of £46bn ($62bn).

— The Economist, "Business this week," 10 May 2018
The author was struck by the secrecy of their courtship, with the prince flying commercial to see Ms. Markle, going unnoticed in a hoodie and cap alongside his bodyguard.

— ellen gamerman, WSJ, "The Royal Wedding, Coming to a Podcast, Tell-All and Lifetime Movie Near You," 24 Apr. 2018
In the two episodes that premiered on YouTube this week, Beck tries to help Clem navigate online dating (Clem’s wants to list her hobbies as prayer, toil and time travel) and modern courtship.

— julie hinds, Detroit Free Press, "Finally, a Detroit-made web comedy on feminism and time travel," 2 Feb. 2018
So much about the frenzied courtship of Shohei Ohtani has been unclear.

— dennis lin, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Padres will be last team to make their pitch to Shohei Ohtani," 5 Dec. 2017
The impulse to wonder and to pry is, of course, as old as courtship itself.

— anna pulley, RedEye Chicago, "Ask Anna: Quick and dirty fall dating advice," 25 Sep. 2017
On Saturday, Meghan married Prince Harry at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle after a whirlwind (and initially secret) courtship.

— michele corriston, PEOPLE.com, "Royal Wedding Recap! Relive Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Big Day in Under 3 Minutes!," 19 May 2018
The defining story of Kate and Will’s courtship, after all, embodies this dichotomy.

— tara isabella burton, Vox, "What the difference between Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle says about how we conceive of the “ideal woman”," 18 May 2018

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

First Known Use of courtship

1596

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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courtship Synonyms

Synonyms

courting, dating, lovemaking, suit;

Related Words

suit, wooing;

affair (also affaire), love affair, romance;

betrothal, engagement;

COURTSHIP Defined for English Language Learners

courtship

noun

Definition of courtship for English Language Learners

: the activities that occur when people are developing a romantic relationship that could lead to marriage or the period of time when such activities occur
: the behavior of animals that leads to sexual activity or the period of time when such behavior occurs
: an attempt to convince someone to support you or to choose you or your organization