What does "course" mean?
A sequence of events.
Course
/kɔːs/ adv, noun, verb, slang
adv, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A sequence of events.
- Grammar: course is listed as adv, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: class, path, academic course, academic program.
- Useful contrasts: individual unit, crawl, detour.
- Usage evidence: It would of course be cheaper for you to sleep at our place.
How to use "course"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "course" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "course" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "course" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "course" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "course" is acting as adv, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "class" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "course", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A sequence of events.
"The normal course of events seems to be just one damned thing after another."
- 2 a mode of action wordnet
- 3 A sequence of events.; A normal or customary sequence.
"The course of true love never did run smooth."
- 4 education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings wordnet
- 5 A sequence of events.; A programme, a chosen manner of proceeding.
Show 29 more definitions
- 6 facility consisting of a circumscribed area of land or water laid out for a sport wordnet
- 7 A sequence of events.; Any ordered process or sequence of steps.
"There is but one course for me to follow: I'LL MOIDER THE BUM!"
- 8 (construction) a layer of masonry wordnet
- 9 A sequence of events.; A learning programme
"Her course will be ‘Communication Studies with Theatre Studies’: God, how tedious, how pointless."
- 10 part of a meal served at one time wordnet
- 11 A sequence of events.; A learning programme; a series of lectures or lessons in a particular subject
"I need to take a French course."
- 12 a body of students who are taught together wordnet
- 13 A sequence of events.; A learning programme; an educational programme at a college or university leading to an academic degree or vocational qualification. Ireland, Philippines, UK
"What's your course in university? —Business studies. And you?"
- 14 a connected series of events or actions or developments wordnet
- 15 A sequence of events.; A treatment plan. especially
"Miss Clark, alarmed at her increasing stoutness, was doing a course of what is popularly known as banting."
- 16 general line of orientation wordnet
- 17 A sequence of events.; A stage of a meal.
"We offer seafood as the first course."
- 18 a line or route along which something travels or moves wordnet
- 19 A sequence of events.; The succession of one to another in office or duty; order; turn.
"He appointed […] the courses of the priests."
- 20 A path that something or someone moves along.
"His illness ran its course."
- 21 A path that something or someone moves along.; The itinerary of a race.
"The cross-country course passes the canal."
- 22 A path that something or someone moves along.; A racecourse.
- 23 A path that something or someone moves along.; The path taken by a flow of water; a watercourse.
- 24 A path that something or someone moves along.; The trajectory of a ball, frisbee etc.
- 25 A path that something or someone moves along.; A golf course.
- 26 A path that something or someone moves along.; The direction of movement of a vessel at any given moment.
"The ship changed its course 15 degrees towards south."
- 27 A path that something or someone moves along.; The intended passage of voyage, such as a boat, ship, airplane, spaceship, etc.
"A course was plotted to traverse the ocean."
- 28 A path that something or someone moves along.; The drive usually frequented by Europeans at an Indian station. India, historical
"It was curious to Oakfield to be back on the Ferozepore course, after a six months' interval, which seemed like years. How much had happened in these six months!"
- 29 The lowest square sail in a fully rigged mast, often named according to the mast.
"Main course and mainsail are the same thing in a sailing ship."
- 30 Menses. euphemistic, in-plural, obsolete
"The bleeding body signifies as a shameful token of uncontrol, as a failure of physical self-mastery particularly associated with woman in her monthly "courses"."
- 31 A row or file of objects.; A row of bricks or blocks.
"On a building that size, two crews could only lay two courses in a day."
- 32 A row or file of objects.; A row of material that forms the roofing, waterproofing or flashing system.
- 33 A row or file of objects.; In weft knitting, a single row of loops connecting the loops of the preceding and following rows.
- 34 One or more strings on some musical instruments (such as the guitar, lute or vihuela): if multiple, then closely spaced, tuned in unison or octaves and intended to be played together.
Verb
- 1 To run or flow (especially of liquids and more particularly blood).
"The oil coursed through the engine."
- 2 hunt with hounds wordnet
- 3 To run through or over. transitive
- 4 move along, of liquids wordnet
- 5 To pursue by tracking or estimating the course taken by one's prey; to follow or chase after. transitive
"We coursed him at the heels."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 move swiftly through or over wordnet
- 7 To cause to chase after or pursue game. transitive
"to course greyhounds after deer"
Adverb
- 1 Ellipsis of of course. abbreviation, alt-of, colloquial, ellipsis, not-comparable
""Course it's mighty hard to tell till we've put out a few traps," said the former, "but it looks to me like we've struck it lucky.""
Adverb
- 1 as might be expected wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"It would of course be cheaper for you to sleep at our place."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "course"?
Common synonyms include: class, path, academic course, academic program, academic specialty, act.
How do you use "course" in a sentence?
It would of course be cheaper for you to sleep at our place.
How do you pronounce "course"?
Pronounced /kɔːs/.
Etymology
From Middle English cours, from Old French cours, from Latin cursus (“course of a race”), from currō (“run”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”). Doublet of cursus and cour.