sue

verb

\ ˈsü

sued; suing

Definition of sue

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 obsolete : to make petition to or for

2 archaic : to pay court or suit to : woo

3a : to seek justice or right from (a person) by legal process specifically : to bring an action against

b : to proceed with and follow up (a legal action) to proper termination

intransitive verb

1 : to make a request or application : plead —usually used with for or to sue for peace

2 : to pay court : woo he loved … but sued in vain— William Wordsworth

3 : to take legal proceedings in court

Sue

biographical name

\ ˈsü

, ˈsᵫ\

Definition of Sue (Entry 2 of 2)

Eugène 1804–1857 originally Marie-Joseph Sue French novelist

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Examples of sue in a Sentence

Verb

Some people sue over the most minor things. People injured in accidents caused by the defective tire have threatened to sue. They've threatened to sue the company. He is suing the doctor who performed the unnecessary surgery.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Now, Huawei has shifted to a war footing, suing the U.S. government as the company looks to defend its global business. — Dan Strumpf, WSJ, "Telecom Giant’s Lawsuit Marks Shift to War Footing," 7 Mar. 2019 Advocates of the rule sued, confident the delay would be overturned since their grounds were similar to those for the SAFMR rule. — Jeff Andrews, Curbed, "HUD won one court battle, lost another under Ben Carson in 2018," 26 Dec. 2018 The documents — 911 recordings, evidence logs, multiple witness statements and police officer reports — were released after media outlets sued to obtain them. — Nicole Darrah, Fox News, "Las Vegas shooting witness accounts recall 'tons of gunshots,' 'people dead everywhere'," 2 Oct. 2018 Can college athletes successfully sue the NCAA when they are unfairly linked to team scandals and accompanying NCAA sanctions? — Michael Mccann, SI.com, "Should the NCAA Be Worried About the Lawsuit It's Facing From Former Louisville Players?," 12 July 2018 This culminated last year with his suing CD Projekt for millions of dollars, at which point CD Projekt basically told him to get lost. — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "This week in games: The film Groundhog Day gets a VR sequel, Creative Assembly teases a new shooter," 8 Feb. 2019 The New York Times uncovered discrimination allegations at other progressive and feminist-leaning organizations as well, including Mehri & Skalet, a law firm that, ironically, is suing Walmart for pregnancy discrimination. — Anna North, Vox, "Planned Parenthood is facing criticism for its treatment of pregnant workers," 21 Dec. 2018 According to The Blast, which first reported on the lawsuit, a marketing company named Vibes Media is suing Kim K for allegedly stealing their logo for her new KKW fragrance that's also called Vibes. — Chloe Metzger, Marie Claire, "Kim Kardashian's Kimoji Fragrance Is Being Sued Already," 19 July 2018 Hassell sued Bird for libel and won a judgment for more than $550,000 in damages and costs, as well as an injunction ordering Bird to remove the ostensibly defamatory material from Yelp. — Michael Hiltzik, latimes.com, "Yelp may have just saved the internet — but the court ruling in its favor is a dangerous muddle," 3 July 2018

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

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Last Updated

12 Mar 2019

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Time Traveler for sue

The first known use of sue was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for sue

sue

verb

English Language Learners Definition of sue

: to use a legal process by which you try to get a court of law to force a person, company, or organization that has treated you unfairly or hurt you in some way to give you something or to do something : to bring a lawsuit against someone or something

See the full definition for sue in the English Language Learners Dictionary

sue

verb

\ ˈsü

sued; suing