Court
name, noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Definitions
- 1 An enclosed space; a courtyard; an uncovered area shut in by the walls of a building, or by different buildings; also, a space opening from a street and nearly surrounded by houses; a blind alley.
"The girls were playing in the court."
- 2 respectful deference wordnet
- 3 An enclosed space; a courtyard; an uncovered area shut in by the walls of a building, or by different buildings; also, a space opening from a street and nearly surrounded by houses; a blind alley.; A street with no outlet, a cul-de-sac. Australia, US
- 4 an area wholly or partly surrounded by walls or buildings wordnet
- 5 An enclosed space; a courtyard; an uncovered area shut in by the walls of a building, or by different buildings; also, a space opening from a street and nearly surrounded by houses; a blind alley.; A housing estate under the Home Ownership Scheme. Hong-Kong
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- 6 a specially marked horizontal area within which a game is played wordnet
- 7 An enclosed space; a courtyard; an uncovered area shut in by the walls of a building, or by different buildings; also, a space opening from a street and nearly surrounded by houses; a blind alley.; An apartment building, or a small development of several apartment buildings. Hong-Kong
- 8 a room in which a law court sits wordnet
- 9 Royal society.; The residence of a sovereign, prince, nobleman, or other dignitary; a palace.
"The noblemen visited the queen in her court."
- 10 the residence of a sovereign or nobleman wordnet
- 11 Royal society.; The collective body of persons composing the retinue of a sovereign or person high in authority; all the surroundings of a sovereign in his regal state.
"Meronym: royal household"
- 12 a hotel for motorists; provides direct access from rooms to parking area wordnet
- 13 Royal society.; Any formal assembling of the retinue of a sovereign.
"The princesses[…] held their court within the fortress."
- 14 the sovereign and their advisers who are the governing power of a state wordnet
- 15 Attention directed to a person in power; behaviour designed to gain favor; politeness of manner; civility towards someone.
"No solace could her paramour entreat / Her once to show, ne court, nor dalliance."
- 16 the family and retinue of a sovereign or prince wordnet
- 17 The administration of law.; The hall, chamber, or place, where justice is administered.
"Many famous criminals have been put on trial in this court."
- 18 an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business wordnet
- 19 The administration of law.; The persons officially assembled under authority of law, at the appropriate time and place, for the administration of justice; an official assembly, legally met together for the transaction of judicial business; a judge or judges sitting for the hearing or trial of cases.
"The court started proceedings at 11 o'clock."
- 20 The administration of law.; An organization for the administration of law, consisting of a body of judges with a certain jurisdiction along with its administrative apparatus.
"Each province in Canada has three courts: a provincial court, a superior court, and a court of appeals."
- 21 The administration of law.; The judge or judges or other judicial officer presiding in a particular matter, particularly as distinguished from the counsel or jury, or both. capitalized, often
"A case conference in person was convened.... To emphasize that it was a Court proceeding the Court was gowned."
- 22 The administration of law.; The session of a judicial assembly.
"The court is now in session."
- 23 The administration of law.; Any jurisdiction, civil, military, or ecclesiastical.
- 24 A place arranged for playing the games of tennis, basketball, handball, badminton, volleyball, squash and some other games
"The local sports club has six tennis courts and two squash courts."
- 25 A place arranged for playing the games of tennis, basketball, handball, badminton, volleyball, squash and some other games; one of the two divisions of a tennis, badminton or volleyball court, in which the player or players of each team play
"The photograph at left captures a great serve by Dr. Sadowsky, who will never forget one of Bobby Riggs's serves, which had such a great spin that it landed in his court and bounced back to the other side of the net before he had a chance to return it."
- 26 A space prepared and decorated by certain bird species in which to advertise themselves for a mate.
"The male Wilson's bird of paradise clears an area of rainforest to create a court in which to perform an elaborate mating dance."
- 1 To seek to achieve or win (a prize). transitive
"He was courting big new accounts that previous salesmen had not attempted."
- 2 make amorous advances towards wordnet
- 3 To risk (a consequence, usually negative). transitive
"She courted controversy with her frank speeches."
- 4 engage in social activities leading to marriage wordnet
- 5 To try to win a commitment to marry from. transitive
"If either of you both love Katharina […] / Leave shall you have to court her at your pleasure."
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- 6 seek someone's favor wordnet
- 7 To engage in behavior conducive to mating with. transitive
"The bird was courting a potential mate by performing an elaborate dance."
- 8 To attempt to attract; to invite by attractions; to allure. transitive
"[…] a well-worn pathway courted us / To one green wicket in a privet hedge […]"
- 9 To attempt to gain alliance with. transitive
- 10 To engage in activities intended to win affections. intransitive
"She's had a few beaus come courting."
- 11 To engage in courtship behavior. intransitive
"At this time of year, you can see many animals courting."
- 1 A surname from Middle English for someone who worked or lived in a court.
- 2 A municipality in Bern canton, Switzerland.
Example
More examples"Prosecutors in court have to substantiate their claims in order to prove a suspect is guilty."
Etymology
From Middle English court, from Old French cort, curt, from Late Latin cōrs, contracted from Latin cohors. Doublet of cohort. A court (noun sense 4.2) assembled to hear the testimony of Charles Lindbergh. The room is also a court (noun sense 4.1). Professional tennis players playing on a tennis court (noun sense 5) in New Delhi, India
* As an English and French surname, from the noun court. Also from the French adjective court (“short”). * As an Irish surname, reduced from McCourt.
Related phrases
More for "court"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.