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
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 During Netflix’s courting process, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said all the right things and won over many inside HBO with the idea that the brand would stay intact and operate as its own quality label, much like FX inside Hulu and Disney. Michael Schneider, Variety, 2 Mar. 2026 The courting of crypto He has been courting crypto ever since. Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 27 Feb. 2026 And his courting of white nationalists and antisemites changed the face of the party. S.e. Cupp, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2026 With the courting process complete, Harbaugh is now tasked with turning around the beleaguered franchise that has made just two playoff appearances over the past 12 years and not made it past the divisional round. Stephen Whyno, Twin Cities, 17 Jan. 2026 Truth is, romance isn’t solely about the grand gestures and lavish courting. Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 10 Jan. 2026
Verb
Iván Cepeda aimed to mobilize Petro’s existing following rather than courting voters beyond it. Ines Capdevila, CNN Money, 21 June 2026 Once one of the kingdom’s more conservative areas, Aseer is now courting domestic crowds and foreign tourists alike. Manal Albarakati, semafor.com, 16 June 2026 Although Meta was heavily courting third-party developers with Llama, May said the company's efforts under Wang seem geared toward internal uses. Jonathan Vanian,julia Boorstin, CNBC, 14 June 2026 Spotify has eliminated a temporary logo, months after courting user backlash to the design that many felt was visually unappealing. Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 12 June 2026 Before the outbreak of the latest war, Lebanese officials were courting Gulf tourists to return to the country in hopes of reviving the economy, and some Gulf countries had lifted travel bans preventing their citizens from visiting Lebanon. ABC News, 10 June 2026 In April, Waller secured an invitation to Mar-a-Lago and began courting Barron. Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026 Meanwhile, Michael's younger brother Sam (Haim) and his friends Edgar (Corey Feldman) and Alan Frog (Jamison Newlander) try to battle the head vampire Max (Edward Hermann) — who's courting Michael and Sam's single mother, Lucy (Wiest). Jessica Sager, PEOPLE, 7 June 2026 Newcastle are not actively courting offers for Nick Woltemade, their £64m record acquisition, though interest may arrive from Germany. James McNicholas, New York Times, 2 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for courting
Noun
  • Macleod and his colleagues sequenced the DNA of the plague victims, piecing together how they were related and (through radiocarbon dating) when each member of the family died.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 18 June 2026
  • Groucutt notes a significant issue in paleoethology relates to the dating of sites, as the techniques used can yield vastly different results.
    Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 14 June 2026
Verb
  • Having not spent more than £3million ($4m) on a player on the way to the top division, the £16m transfer from Roma of Enzo Le Fee was confirmed, while majority shareholder Kyril Louis-Dreyfus used his Swiss contacts to start wooing Granit Xhaka.
    Michael Walker, New York Times, 29 May 2026
  • With the June 2 primary days away, California’s top three governor hopefuls barnstormed the state Friday, wooing unions, firing attacks and sharpening contrasts in a tight, high-stakes race.
    Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Courting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/courting. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.

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