courting 1 of 2

as in dating
the series of social engagements shared by a couple looking to get married after two years of courting, they finally married

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courting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of court
1
as in wooing
to act so as to make (something) more likely you're courting disaster if you keep playing with matches

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2
as in making love
to go on dates that may eventually lead to marriage they courted for a year before getting married

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of courting
Noun
Trump’s courting of podcasters like Rogan was thought to be an important part of his media campaign in 2024 – so much so that its absence during the midterm election cycle also garnered attention. — Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2026 Part one gave a broad overview of the gallery’s history, and part two looked at CEO Marc Glimcher’s courting of Silicon Valley billionaires and his forays into art-tech collaborations. — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 28 Oct. 2026 They were fined $250,000 a year later for violating rules against offering unauthorized business or investment opportunities to players during their courting of free agent DeAndre Jordan. — ABC News, 2 Sep. 2026 The problem with the abstract expressionists’ relentless courting of the sublime was that the process of distillation produced too much bombast. — Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 27 Aug. 2026 On the day before the last weekend of the LaLiga season in Spain, where Bellingham currently plays for Real Madrid, Icons became his first memorabilia partner, concluding a three-and-a-half-year courting period. — Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 15 July 2026 Some of it was sought-after — Levinson is a provocateur, and his courting of controversy has earned the series nine Emmy wins and far more nominations. — Seija Rankin, HollywoodReporter, 31 May 2026 But Armour, who grew up swimming alongside these creatures and works for local outfitter Diving With Giants, is doing his best translation of their cetacean courting calls. — Adam Erace, Fortune, 24 May 2026 It’s often said that age is just a number, and a new Netflix reality dating series will soon put the old adage to the test by taking age entirely out of the courting equation. — Tiney Ricciardi, Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2026
Verb
Tecovas is courting the fashion crowd with its latest collaboration. — Stephen Garner, Footwear News, 4 Nov. 2026 Many South Dakotans worry their home state is too busy courting these nonresident hunters — or more precisely, their wallets — to notice the fading tradition of resident pheasant culture. — Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 4 Nov. 2026 Beta is courting other aircraft makers, airports, and operators to use its technology. — IEEE Spectrum, 28 Oct. 2026 The bottom line is that Taverner did compromise herself by taking Cantor’s money, but that money was used for an operation against Russia, the country Cantor has been courting to expand his media empire. — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026 In the last few months, Raman and Bass have both been courting supporters of Spencer Pratt, the conservative reality television personality who got 26% of the vote in June’s primary by running an anti-establishment, tough on crime campaign. — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 19 Oct. 2026 The meet-up has spawned gossip that Sarandos was full-on courting the duo. — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 19 Oct. 2026 Upending global trade, plucking a dictator out of Caracas, escalating to full-on war with Iran, shredding alliances, courting despots — the major twists and turns of this administration never end. — Kate Andrews, Washington Post, 17 Oct. 2026 Was Sarandos courting Bloys for a top job at the streamer, perhaps to take the job then held by Bajaria? — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for courting
Noun
  • Now in his 14th season with the NBA, Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum was first intrigued by wine when his wife Elise’s parents gifted the couple a bottle of Merlot while the two were still in college and dating.
    — Mike DeSimone, Robb Report, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Phosphate minerals and rubidium-strontium dating gave similar ages.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 30 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • FanDuel, wooing the leagues, cited research showing that its customers watched forty per cent more sports after becoming members.
    — New Yorker, New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2026
  • Democrats won governor races in the next three biggest states previously wooing data center developers—Arizona, Georgia, and Ohio.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 4 Nov. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Courting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/courting. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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