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We won't complain about the origins of plaintiff, although complain and plaintiff are distantly related; both can be traced back to plangere, a Latin word meaning "to strike, beat one's breast, or lament." Plaintiff comes most immediately from Middle English plaintif, itself an Anglo-French borrowing tracing back to plaint, meaning "lamentation." (The English word plaintive is also related.) Logically enough, plaintiff applies to the one who does the complaining in a legal case.
Examples of plaintiff in a Sentence
Lexi Nicklaus, Baltimore Sun, 28 Apr. 2026
The plaintiffs took legal action to challenge the ban in November 2023, and have now officially been transferred their winnings.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 28 Apr. 2026
On Monday, Gregory Craig, the attorney for the National Trust, wrote to Assistant Attorney General Breet Shumate, who had urged the plaintiffs to drop the case, citing the events at the Correspondents’ Dinner.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 28 Apr. 2026
The plaintiff demands that the court remove Altman from OpenAI’s board and roll back its for-profit status.
—David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 28 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for plaintiff
Cite this Entry
“Plaintiff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plaintiff. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
plaintiff
noun
Legal Definition
plaintiff
noun
Middle French plaintif, from plaintif, adj., grieving, from plaint lamentation, from Latin planctus, from plangere to strike, beat one's breast, lament
