court

1 of 2

noun

ˈkȯrt 

plural courts

often attributive

1

a

: the residence or establishment of a sovereign or similar dignitary

riding to the king's court

b

: a sovereign's formal assembly of councillors and officers

The king held a general court.

c

: the sovereign and officers and advisers who are the governing power

The court has decided against the alliance.

d

: the family and retinue of a sovereign

The court enjoyed the tournament.

e

: a reception held by a sovereign

2

a(1)

: a manor house or large building surrounded by usually enclosed grounds

Hampton Court

(2)

: motel

b

: an open space enclosed wholly or partly by buildings or circumscribed by a single building

the court at the center of the palace

c

: a quadrangular space walled or marked off for playing one of various games with a ball (such as tennis, handball, or basketball)

also : a division of such a court

d

: a wide alley with only one opening onto a street

3

a

: an official assembly for the transaction of judicial business see also court-packing, pack the court

b

: a session of such a court

The court is now adjourned.

c

: a place (such as a chamber) for the administration of justice

sat quietly in the back of the court

see also take to court

d

: a judge or judges in session

also : a faculty or agency of judgment or evaluation

… rest our case in the court of world opinion …

—Leonard H. Marks

4

a

: an assembly or board with legislative or administrative powers

b

: parliament, legislature

5

: conduct or attention intended to win favor or dispel hostility : homage

pay court to the king

court

2 of 2

verb

courted; courting; courts

transitive verb

1

a

: to seek to gain or achieve

court power

b(1)

: allure, tempt

mountain streams courting the fishermen

(2)

: to act so as to invite or provoke

courts disaster

2

a

: to seek the affections of

especially : to seek to win a pledge of marriage from

b

of an animal : to perform actions in order to attract for mating

a male bird courting a female

3

a

: to seek to attract (as by solicitous attention or offers of advantages)

college teams courting high school basketball stars

Both candidates were courting the independent voters.

b

: to seek an alliance with

intransitive verb

1

: to engage in social activities leading to engagement and marriage

2

of an animal : to engage in activity leading to mating

a pair of robins courting in the trees

Synonyms

Noun

• palace

Verb

• ask (for)
• flirt (with)
• invite
• woo

Examples of court in a Sentence

Noun

Court is now in session.

Court is adjourned for the day.

There was a large group of protesters outside the court.

a lawyer who has appeared in courts around the country

The case is before the state's highest court.

She's a judge on an appellate court.

The prosecution has new evidence to submit to the court.

Please explain to the court what happened that night.

The court ruled the law unconstitutional.

The court reversed the lower court's decision.

Verb

The couple courted for two years before marrying.

He was courting his college sweetheart.

a pair of robins courting

The male will sometimes court the female for hours.

college teams courting high school basketball stars

The speech was clearly intended to court middle-class voters.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In a series of letters sent to the court asking for a reduction of Gonzalez’s bail at an earlier phase of the trial, his relatives described him as a dedicated, hardworking family man who worked as a cable repairman for decades before pursuing his dream to be a law enforcement officer. —James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024

Threatening to take her mother to court and floundering to pay for her education, Thompson challenged her mom for not thinking of her daughter’s future needs. —Chloe Berger, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024

Photos included in the court filing appear to show bruises on the plaintiff’s forearm. —Cheri Mossburg, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024

The Huang family’s lawyers have countered in a court filing that Tesla purposefully hid its questioning of Harding from them until after pretrial fact-finding deadlines. —Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024

The court filing argues that an unnamed witness saw Nakala Murry's ex-boyfriend, John Nolden, jump on her during the May 2023 incident in front of her three children. —Jonathan Franklin, NPR, 5 Apr. 2024

Lau, from the State Democracy Research Initiative, wrote that a court could interpret the amendment broadly and exclude people involved with administering elections but aren't sworn in. —Journal Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2024

Candy Peavy, 73, made phone calls for Nickelson and recruited other volunteers after attending court hearings in his cases. —Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Washington Post, 24 Mar. 2024

While public records can’t say what, specifically, law firms are being paid to do, records show Save America has paid more than 70 different lawyers and law firms, and many are listed on court paperwork representing Trump in his civil and criminal cases. —Erin Mansfield, USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2024

Verb

For instance, Xi last week hosted American CEOs in Beijing to court them on investing in China. —Fatima Hussein, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2024

The division, thanks to Stuber, was able to court top filmmaking talent. —Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Apr. 2024

On a trip to San Juan last week also aimed at courting the 5.9 million Puerto Rican Latinos who live in the mainland United States, Harris' arrival at a community center to celebrate the Caribbean island's culture was shouted down by demonstrators. —Trevor Hunnicutt, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2024

The group has been courting potential candidates with no luck. —Molly Beck, Journal Sentinel, 28 Mar. 2024

By contrast, the DeSantis campaign spurned the traditional press, both publicly and privately, and instead courted conservative influencers. —Clare Malone, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024

The enthusiastic early adopters have already bought in, and the market hasn’t been very successful at courting traditional gas car buyers. —Bradley Brownell / Jalopnik, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024

Biden courts Latino voters and presses housing affordability, manufacturing in Nevada and Arizona. —Anthony De Leon, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024

While the streaming film (and a subsequent documentary about its creation) made headlines and courted viewer eyeballs according to Amazon streaming lists, This Is Me... —Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 13 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French curt, court, from Latin cohort-, cohors enclosure, group, retinue, cohort, from co- + -hort-, -hors (akin to hortus garden) — more at yard

First Known Use

Noun

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Verb

1567, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing court

• appeals court
• circuit court
• clay court
• county court
• court appearance
• court-appointed attorney
• court bouillon
• court card
• court disaster
• court-martial
• court of appeals
• court of claims
• court of common pleas
• court of domestic relations
• court of honor
• court of inquiry
• court of law
• court of record
• court of sessions
• court order
• court packing
• court plaster
• court reporter
• court shoe
• court tennis
• criminal court
• crown court
• district court
• domestic relations court
• drumhead court-martial
• family court
• federal court
• federal district court
• food court
• friend of the court
• full-court press
• go to court
• grass court
• half-court
• have one's day in court
• high court
• hold court
• juvenile court
• kangaroo court
• law court
• magistrate's court
• moot court
• motor court
• municipal court
• night court
• open court
• orphan's court
• out of court
• out-of-court settlement
• pack the court
• pay court to
• police court
• probate court
• provost court
• service court
• small-claims court
• superior court
• supreme court
• take to court
• tennis court
• territorial court
• the ball is in one's court
• the court of public/world opinion
• tourist court
• traffic court
• trial court

Kids Definition

court

1 of 2 noun

ˈkō(ə)rt 

ˈkȯ(ə)rt

1

a

: the residence of a ruler and especially a king or queen

b

: a ruler's formal assembly of advisers and officers as a governing body

c

: the family and followers of a ruler

2

a

: an open space completely or partly surrounded by buildings

b

: a space for playing a ball game

a tennis court

c

: a wide alley with only one opening onto a street

3

a

: an assembly for carrying out judicial business

b

: a session of a judicial assembly

court is now adjourned

c

: a building or room where legal cases are heard

d

: a judge in session

4

: attention designed to win favor

pay court to the king

court

2 of 2 verb

1

a

: to try to gain

court favor

b

: to act so as to invite or provoke

court disaster

2

: to seek the affections or favor of

the candidate courted the voters

3

a

: to engage in a social relationship usually leading to marriage

b

: to engage in activity leading to mating

a pair of robins courting

Legal Definition

court

noun

ˈkōrt 

1

a

: an official assembly for the administration of justice : a unit of the judicial branch of government

the judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish

—U.S. Constitution art. III

b

: a session of such a court

c

usually capitalized : the Supreme Court of the United States

2

: a place (as a building, hall, or room) for the administration of justice

order in the court

3

: a judge or judges acting in official capacity

an issue to be decided by the court

the court may neither preside at nor attend the meeting of creditors

—J. H. Williamson

4

usually capitalized : a legislative body

the General Court of Massachusetts

5

: a body (as the International Court of Justice) exercising judicial powers over its members or the members of a body represented by it

an ecclesiastical court

Etymology

Noun

Old French, enclosed space, royal entourage, court of justice, from Latin cohort-, cohors farmyard, armed force, retinue