court
part of speech
noun (a court, courts); verb (court, courts, courted, courting — old or formal)
meaning for a pupil
1) A place where a judge decides legal cases; also the judge and people there. tree →
2) An area marked out for some sports, such as tennis, netball or basketball. tree →
3) The home of a king or queen and the people around them. tree →
4) (verb, old) To try to win someone's love. tree →
5) (verb) To try to get something: "court danger". tree →
sense in the lessons
In social studies and stories: the thief went to court. In PE: the netball court, tennis court. In fairy tales: the king's court. Phrases: go to court, take someone to court, court case, out of court, on court.
examples
- The man had to go to court for stealing. tree →
- We played tennis on the school court. tree →
- The judge spoke to the court. tree →
- The king's court was full of knights. tree →
- A basketball court has two hoops. tree →
- They settled the argument out of court. tree →
- Riding without a helmet is courting danger. tree →
- But he soon returned to Court. tree →
note
Countable. Sport: "on court"; law: "in court". Related: courtyard, courtroom. In maths, a tennis court's size gives area and perimeter problems.
In the corpora
- An employment tribunal is a kind of court for work disputes, such as being sacked unfairly or not being paid what is owed.
- Bailiffs can collect money owed only after a court decision and many warnings, under strict rules, and cannot take essentials.
- A divorce is the official legal end of a marriage, and "the divorce came through" means the court has finished it.
- Serious accusations belong to courts and investigations, not to jokes in the playground.
- "Charged" with a crime is not the same as "guilty"; the court decides, so wait for it.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «court» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.