- case
- noun1 exampleADJECTIVE▪ classic, textbook, typical▪ clear, obvious, simple▪
It was a simple case of mistaken identity.
▪ borderline▪The teacher gave all borderline cases a spoken test.
▪ extreme▪ isolated, rare▪Except in a few rare cases, bee stings are not dangerous.
▪ exceptional, special, unusual▪ striking▪ documented, reported▪There have been documented cases of officials accepting bribes.
VERB + CASE▪ illustrate, show▪ cite, highlight▪He highlighted the case of Harry Farr, who was executed in 1916.
▪ consider▪Let's consider the case of a dealer trying to make a sale.
CASE + VERB▪ arise, occur▪The committee has full powers to deal with any cases of malpractice that arise.
CASE + NOUN▪ study▪a case study of an Amazonian tribe
▪ examplePREPOSITION▪ in sb's/this case▪In her case, she failed the exam because she wasn't well.
▪ case of▪a case of animal cruelty
PHRASES▪ case by case▪Complaints are dealt with on a case by case basis.
▪ a case in point▪Many professions feel they deserve higher pay, and nurses are a case in point.
2 the case true situationVERB + THE CASE▪ be, remain▪It remains the case that not enough graduates are going into teaching.
▪ overstate, understate▪I agree with him, but don't you think he slightly overstates the case?
3 of a diseaseADJECTIVE▪ acute, chronic▪ advanced, bad, serious, severe▪He had a bad case of appendicitis.
▪ mild▪ AIDS, flu, SARS, etc.▪About 25% of AIDS cases are linked with the sharing of needles.
▪ confirmed, reported▪There have been no confirmed cases of BSE in the US.
VERB + CASE▪ diagnose▪Two million new cases of hypertension are diagnosed each year.
▪ report▪The Department of Health reported five human cases of bird flu.
CASE + NOUN▪ history▪Medical students study the case histories of many patients.
▪ notes, recordsPREPOSITION▪ case of▪a severe case of food poisoning
4 police investigationADJECTIVE▪ notorious▪the notorious case of the Botley strangler
▪ tragic▪ assault, homicide (esp. AmE), molestation (AmE), murder, rape, robberyVERB + CASE▪ handle, investigate, work on▪Four officers are investigating the case.
▪ crack, solve▪They never solved the Jones murder case.
▪ close▪ reopenCASE + NOUN▪ file, report▪He was looking through some homicide case files.
▪ officer▪Carter was the senior case officer on the investigation.
PREPOSITION▪ on the case▪A detective is on the case at the moment.
▪ case of▪a case of theft
5 in a court of lawADJECTIVE▪ court▪ criminal▪ civil▪ landmark, test▪This is a test case which will influence what other judges decide.
▪ high-profile▪As a lawyer he was involved in high-profile divorce cases.
▪ antitrust (esp. AmE), divorce, libel, malpractice (esp. AmE)▪ death-penalty (esp. AmE)▪The jury are required to be unanimous in death-penalty cases.
VERB + CASE▪ bring▪He brought the case to the Supreme Court.
▪ prosecute, pursue▪ handle, litigate (AmE), take▪This was the hardest case she had handled since becoming a lawyer.
▪No lawyer would take his case.
▪ consider, hear, try▪The court will consider the case soon.
▪The case will be heard in a higher court.
▪ rehear, retry, review▪ adjourn▪ dismiss, throw out▪The case was thrown out for lack of evidence.
▪ drop▪The prosecution decided to drop the case.
▪ decide, settle▪The case was settled out of court.
▪ win▪ loseCASE + VERB▪ come before sb, come to court, go to court, go to trial▪The case came before Judge Hales.
▪He was so clearly innocent, the case should never have gone to court.
▪ collapse▪The case against her collapsed when a key witness was proved to have lied.
▪ involve sth▪a compensation case involving thousands of workers
▪ centre/center on sth, hinge on sth, rest on sth, turn on sth▪The case hinged on the evidence of the only witness.
▪ raise sth▪The case raises a number of issues.
▪ allege sth▪cases alleging violations of international law
▪ challenge sth▪He brought a case challenging the legality of the war.
PREPOSITION▪ in a/the case▪the evidence in the case
▪ case against▪The case against her was very weak.
▪ case ofPHRASES▪ a case to answer, no case to answer (both BrE)▪The judge ruled that the defendant had no case to answer.
▪ the circumstances of a case, the facts of a case6 argumentsADJECTIVE▪ compelling, convincing, good, persuasive, powerful, strong▪ open-and-shut, unanswerable (BrE)▪With his current superb form, he presents an unanswerable case for selection in the team.
▪ prima facie (law)▪There is a good prima facie case for believing what she says.
▪ circumstantial, weak▪ defence/defense, prosecutionVERB + CASE▪ have▪Our lawyer didn't think we had a case (= a good enough case).
▪ prepare▪The defendant requested more time to prepare his case.
▪ outline, set out▪ make, make out, present, put, state▪You can make out a case for changing our teaching methods.
▪ argue, plead▪I thought she argued her case very well.
▪ take up▪The union has taken up the case of the suspended worker.
▪ judge▪The teacher must judge each case according to its merits.
▪ bolster, help, strengthen, support▪What evidence do you have to support your case?
▪ weakenCASE + VERB▪ exist▪A strong case exists for adopting a similar system in this country.
PREPOSITION▪ case against▪a case against wearing business attire
▪ case forPHRASES▪ the case for the defence/defense, the case for the prosecution▪ the merits of a case▪The disciplinary committee considered the merits of his case before fining him.
7 containerADJECTIVE▪ carrying▪He put the binoculars back in their carrying case.
▪ packing▪ glass▪The room was full of stuffed animals in glass cases.
▪ CD, DVD▪ cartridge (esp. AmE), cigarette, glasses, jewel (AmE), jewellery/jewelry, pencil▪ guitar, violin, etc.▪ display, trophy (esp. AmE)▪She kept all her trophies in a display case.
▪ presentation▪a gold watch in a presentation case
PREPOSITION▪ in a/the case, inside a/the case, out of a/the case8 a case ⇨ See also ↑suitcase (for other collocates with case)ADJECTIVE▪ attaché▪ overnight
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
