Learning / English Dictionary

COURT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Respectful deference

Example:

pay court to the emperor

Synonyms:

court; homage

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("court" is a kind of...):

deference; respect (a courteous expression (by word or deed) of esteem or regard)

Derivation:

court (seek someone's favor)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An area wholly or partly surrounded by walls or buildings

Example:

the house was built around an inner court

Synonyms:

court; courtyard

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("court" is a kind of...):

area (a part of a structure having some specific characteristic or function)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "court"):

atrium (the central area in a building; open to the sky)

bailey (the outer courtyard of a castle)

cloister (a courtyard with covered walks (as in religious institutions))

food court (an area (as in a shopping mall) where fast food is sold (usually around a common eating area))

forecourt (the outer or front court of a building or of a group of buildings)

parvis (a courtyard or portico in front of a building (especially a cathedral))

Holonyms ("court" is a part of...):

building; edifice (a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A specially marked horizontal area within which a game is played

Example:

players had to reserve a court in advance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("court" is a kind of...):

athletic field; field; playing area; playing field (a piece of land prepared for playing a game)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "court"):

badminton court (the court on which badminton is played)

basketball court (the court on which basketball is played)

handball court (the court on which handball is played)

piste (a flat rectangular area for fencing bouts)

squash court (the indoor court in which squash is played)

tennis court (the court on which tennis is played)

volleyball court (the court on which volleyball is played)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A room in which a lawcourt sits

Example:

television cameras were admitted in the courtroom

Synonyms:

court; courtroom

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("court" is a kind of...):

room (an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling)

Meronyms (parts of "court"):

bench ((law) the seat for judges in a courtroom)

jury box (an enclosure within a courtroom for the jury)

bar ((law) a railing that encloses the part of the courtroom where the judges and lawyers sit and the case is tried)

witness box; witness stand (a box enclosure for a witness when testifying)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Holonyms ("court" is a part of...):

courthouse (a building that houses judicial courts)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The residence of a sovereign or nobleman

Example:

the king will visit the duke's court

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("court" is a kind of...):

residence (the official house or establishment of an important person (as a sovereign or president))

Derivation:

courtly (refined or imposing in manner or appearance; befitting a royal court)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A tribunal that is presided over by a magistrate or by one or more judges who administer justice according to the laws

Synonyms:

court; court of justice; court of law; law court; lawcourt

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("court" is a kind of...):

court; judicature; tribunal (an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A hotel for motorists; provides direct access from rooms to parking area

Synonyms:

court; motor hotel; motor inn; motor lodge; tourist court

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("court" is a kind of...):

hotel (a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "court"):

motel (a motor hotel)

Sense 8

Meaning:

The sovereign and his advisers who are the governing power of a state

Synonyms:

court; royal court

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("court" is a kind of...):

authorities; government; regime (the organization that is the governing authority of a political unit)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "court"):

Court of Saint James's (the British royal court)

Porte; Sublime Porte (the Ottoman court in Constantinople)

Derivation:

courtly (refined or imposing in manner or appearance; befitting a royal court)

Sense 9

Meaning:

The family and retinue of a sovereign or prince

Synonyms:

court; royal court

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("court" is a kind of...):

cortege; entourage; retinue; suite (the group following and attending to some important person)

Derivation:

courtly (refined or imposing in manner or appearance; befitting a royal court)

Sense 10

Meaning:

An assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business

Synonyms:

court; judicature; tribunal

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("court" is a kind of...):

assembly (a group of persons who are gathered together for a common purpose)

Meronyms (parts of "court"):

Bench (the magistrate or judge or judges sitting in court in judicial capacity to compose the court collectively)

Meronyms (members of "court"):

jury (a body of citizens sworn to give a true verdict according to the evidence presented in a court of law)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "court"):

trial court (the first court before which the facts of a case are decided)

traffic court (a court that has power to prosecute for traffic offenses)

high court; state supreme court; supreme court (the highest court in most states of the United States)

superior court (any court that has jurisdiction above an inferior court)

Star Chamber (a former English court that became notorious for its arbitrary methods and severe punishments)

Rota ((Roman Catholic Church) the supreme ecclesiastical tribunal for cases appealed to the Holy See from diocesan courts)

quarter sessions (a local court with criminal jurisdiction and sometimes administrative functions)

probate court (a court having jurisdiction over the probate of wills and the administration of estates)

police court (a court that has power to prosecute for minor offenses and to bind over for trial in a superior court anyone accused of serious offenses)

moot court (a mock court where law students argue hypothetical cases)

military court (a judicial court of commissioned officers for the discipline and punishment of military personnel)

kangaroo court (an irregular unauthorized court)

juvenile court (a court having jurisdiction over dependent and delinquent children)

Inquisition (a former tribunal of the Roman Catholic Church (1232-1820) created to discover and suppress heresy)

inferior court; lower court (any court whose decisions can be appealed to a higher court)

F.I.S.C.; Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (a secret federal court created in 1978 by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act; responsible for authorizing wiretaps and other forms of electronic surveillance and for authorizing searches of suspected spies and terrorists by the Department of Justice or United States intelligence agencies)

federal court (a court establish by the authority of a federal government)

court of domestic relations; domestic relations court; family court (a court in some states in the United States that has jurisdiction over family disputes (especially those involving children))

divorce court (a court having jurisdiction over the termination of marriage contracts)

criminal court (a court having jurisdiction over criminal cases)

consistory (a church tribunal or governing body)

chancery; court of chancery (a court with jurisdiction in equity)

assizes; court of assize; court of assize and nisi prius (the county courts of England (replaced in 1971 by Crown courts))

appeals court; appellate court; court of appeals (a court whose jurisdiction is to review decisions of lower courts or agencies)

International Court of Justice; World Court (a court established to settle disputes between members of the United Nations)

court; court of justice; court of law; law court; lawcourt (a tribunal that is presided over by a magistrate or by one or more judges who administer justice according to the laws)

Sense 11

Meaning:

Australian woman tennis player who won many major championships (born in 1947)

Synonyms:

Court; Margaret Court

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Instance hypernyms:

tennis player (an athlete who plays tennis)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make amorous advances towards

Example:

John is courting Mary

Synonyms:

court; romance; solicit; woo

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "court" is one way to...):

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "court"):

chase; chase after (pursue someone sexually or romantically)

display (attract attention by displaying some body part or posing; of animals)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

courting (a man's courting of a woman; seeking the affections of a woman (usually with the hope of marriage))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Engage in social activities leading to marriage

Example:

We were courting for over ten years

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "court" is one way to...):

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence examples:

Sam and Sue court

Sam cannot court Sue

Derivation:

courting (a man's courting of a woman; seeking the affections of a woman (usually with the hope of marriage))

Sense 3

Meaning:

Seek someone's favor

Example:

China is wooing Russia

Synonyms:

court; woo

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

court (respectful deference)

Credits

 Context examples: 

On the other hand, you may be in court over a dispute with a company or individual.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

I fancy that Lord Holdhurst for one, and Mr. Percy Phelps for another, would very much rather that the affair never got as far as a police-court.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He studied book-keeping and type-writing, and he paid for lessons in shorthand by dictating at night to a court reporter who needed practice.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The application of medical knowledge to questions of law; research, reports and testimony in court by experts in medical science to assist in determining a legal question.

(Forensic Medicine, NCI Thesaurus)

Having been placed in a file; recorded in a public office or in a court of law.

(Filed, NCI Thesaurus)

Here was this irreproachable Englishman ready to swear in any court of law that the accused was in the house all the time.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

They vas lyin’ in the kennel three deep all down Tottenham Court road wid their ’ands to their sides just vit to break themselves in two.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

With all the chances against her of house, hall, place, park, court, and cottage, Northanger turned up an abbey, and she was to be its inhabitant.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

A path had been staked off from the city gate to the stands which had been erected for the court and the nobility.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

If you were to see how he is courted, and how I am courted for his sake!

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)