court

noun

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.

(Australia, US) A street with no outlet, a cul-de-sac.

(Hong Kong, only used in names) A housing estate under the Home Ownership Scheme.

(Hong Kong, only used in names) An apartment building, or a small development of several apartment buildings.

(social) Royal society.

The residence of a sovereign, prince, nobleman, or other dignitary; a palace.

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.

Any formal assembling of the retinue of a sovereign.

Attention directed to a person in power; behaviour designed to gain favor; politeness of manner; civility towards someone.

(law) The administration of law.

The hall, chamber, or place, where justice is administered.

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.

An organization for the administration of law, consisting of a body of judges with a certain jurisdiction along with its administrative apparatus.

(often capitalized) The judge or judges or other judicial officer presiding in a particular matter, particularly as distinguished from the counsel or jury, or both.

The session of a judicial assembly.

Any jurisdiction, civil, military, or ecclesiastical.

(sports) 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

(ornithology) A space prepared and decorated by certain bird species in which to advertise themselves for a mate.

A surname from Middle English for someone who worked or lived in a court.

A municipality in Bern canton, Switzerland.

verb

(transitive) To seek to achieve or win (a prize).

(transitive) To risk (a consequence, usually negative).

(transitive) To try to win a commitment to marry from.

(transitive) To engage in behavior conducive to mating with.

(transitive) To attempt to attract; to invite by attractions; to allure.

(transitive) To attempt to gain alliance with.

(intransitive) To engage in activities intended to win affections.

(intransitive) To engage in courtship behavior.

Roots

cohorscourt- · Latin · enclosure, court

Synonyms for court

tribunaln courtroomn judicaturen courthousen courtyardn judicatoryn magistraten judiciaryn judgmentn

Synonyms & related words for court

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of court — including tribunal, courtroom, judicature, courthouse, courtyard, judicatory. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to court

Explore words related to court — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include assizes, contemnor, judicative, appellate, judge, judicial, judicator, certiorari. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for court

Common synonyms for court include tribunal, courtroom, judicature, courthouse, courtyard, judicatory, magistrate, judiciary — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does court come from?

The word court breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root court-, from Latin cohors (“enclosure, court”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.