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   court

   /kɔːt/

   noun

   • 1. a body of people presided over by a judge, judges, or magistrate, and acting as a tribunal in civil and criminal cases: "she will take the matter to court" Similar court of lawlaw courtbenchbarcourt of justicejudicaturetribunalforumchanceryassizescourtroompalais de justice
   • ▪ the place where a court meets: "everyone in the court knew he was going down, innocent or guilty"
   • 2. a quadrangular area, either open or covered, marked out for ball games such as tennis or squash: "a squash court" Similar playing areaenclosurefieldgroundringrinkgreenalleystadiumtrackarenacloseinformal:park
   • ▪ a quadrangular area surrounded by a building or group of buildings: "the map showed the crescents and courts of recent urban sprawl" Similar yardcourtyardquadranglesquarecloseenclosureprecinctesplanadeplazapatiopiazzacloisterarcadelapainformal:quad
   • ▪ used in the names of large houses or blocks of flats: "Hampton Court"
   • 3. the courtiers, retinue, and household of a sovereign: "the emperor is shown with his court" Similar royal householdestablishmentretinueentouragetrainsuiteescortcompanyattendant companystaffpersonnelcortègefollowingbodyguardaidesmembers of courtcourtierscompanionsattendantsservantsretainersassociatesfollowers
   • ▪ a sovereign and his or her councillors, constituting a ruling power: "relations between the king and the imperial court"
   • ▪ a sovereign's residence: "he lived for four years at the court of King Philip" Similar royal residencepalacecastlemanorhallchâteaupalazzoschlossalcazarhistorical:seraglio
   • 4. the qualified members of a company or a corporation.
   • ▪ a meeting of the members of a company or a corporation.

   verb

   • 1. be involved with (someone) romantically, with the intention of marrying: dated "he was courting a girl from the neighbouring farm" Similar woogo out withbe involved withbe romantically linked withpursuerun afterchaseseek the company ofmake advances tomake up toflirt withinformal:seego steady withdatechat upmake (sheep's) eyes atgive the come-on tobe all overtrack withtrack square withdated:set one's cap atpay addresses toromancepay suit topay court toseek the hand ofmake love toarchaic:sparkgo out togethergo outgo with each otherkeep companyinformal:datego steady
   • ▪ (of a male bird or other animal) try to attract (a mate).
   • 2. pay special attention to (someone) in an attempt to win their support or favour: "Western politicians courted the leaders of the newly independent states" Similar curry favour withmake up toplay up toingratiate oneself withcultivateseek the favour oftry to win overtry to get on the good side ofbe obsequious towardsgrovel tobe servile towardsbe sycophantic towardskowtow topander toabase oneself todemean oneself tobow and scrape toprostrate oneself totoady totruckle todance attendance onfawn on/overinformal:suck up tocrawl tocreep tobe all overlick someone's bootsfall all overrub up the right waykeep someone sweetsweet-talksoft-soapbutter upbrown-nosevulgar slang:lick/kiss someone's arselick/kiss someone's assarchaic:blandish
   • ▪ try hard to win (favourable attention): "he never had to court the approval of the political elite" Similar seektry to obtainpursuego afterstrive forgo forpush towardswork towardsbe intent onaim at/forhave as a goalhave as an objectiveaspire tosolicitask for
   • ▪ risk incurring (misfortune) because of one's behaviour: "he has often courted controversy" Similar riskinviteattractprovokebe likely to causebring on oneselfbe likely to lead to

   Word Origin Middle English: from Old French cort, from Latin cohors, cohort- ‘yard or retinue’. The verb is influenced by Old Italian corteare, Old French courtoyer. Compare with cohort.

   Scrabble Points: 7

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   • R

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