- court
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 lawADJECTIVE▪ civil, criminal▪
She should seek damages through the civil courts.
▪The case will be tried before a criminal court.
▪The burden of proof is lower in a civil court than at a criminal hearing.
▪ Appeals Court, circuit, district, federal, Supreme Court, trial (all in the US)▪They took their case to the Appeals Court.
▪ Appeal Court, Crown Court, High Court, magistrates' (all in England and Wales)▪They took their case to the Appeal Court.
▪the High Court of Justice
▪ sheriff (in Scotland)▪ higher, superior▪The banks may decide to appeal to a higher court.
▪The case was appealed to a higher court. (AmE)
▪ highest, supreme▪This is the highest court in the country.
▪ lower▪ juvenile▪ civilian, military▪ bankruptcy, divorce, family▪They are likely to end up in the divorce court. (BrE)
▪They are likely to end up in divorce court. (AmE)
▪ traffic (AmE)▪ small claims▪ county▪ international▪ European, French, etc.▪ ecclesiastical, Islamic, rabbinical, sharia▪ moot (= where law students train to become lawyers) (AmE)▪ kangaroo (= an illegal court)VERB + COURT▪ go to, take sb/sth to▪We are prepared to go to court to get our compensation.
▪They took their employer to court.
▪ come to, get to, go to▪The case should not be allowed to go to court.
▪ bring sth to▪There wasn't enough evidence to bring the case to court.
▪ settle sth out of▪The dispute was settled out of court.
▪ appear before, appear in, attend▪She is too young to appear before the court.
▪He will appear in court tomorrow charged with the murder.
▪ tell▪Will you please tell the court what happened on that morning?
▪ ask, petition, urge▪The company asked the court to overrule the tribunal's decision.
▪ convince, persuade▪We were trying to convince the court that the rules should be changed.
▪ preside over▪The court was presided over by Judge Owen.
▪ adjourn▪Court was adjourned for the weekend.
COURT + VERB▪ hear sth▪The court heard how the mother had beaten the 11-year-old boy.
▪ acquit sb, clear sb▪The court acquitted Reece of the murder of his wife.
▪ convict sb, sentence sb▪The court sentenced him to life in prison.
▪ dismiss sth, overturn sth, quash sth, reject sth▪The court dismissed the appeal.
▪The guilty verdict was quashed by the appeal court.
▪ refuse sth▪The Supreme Court refused to allow the appeal.
▪ uphold sth▪The court upheld the plaintiff's claim of unfair dismissal.
▪ grant sth, issue sth, order sth▪The court issued an injunction.
▪ affirm sth, conclude sth, decide sth, declare sth, find sth, hold sth, reason sth, rule sth▪The court held that she was entitled to receive compensation.
▪ agree▪A higher court agreed that the trial judge had been mistaken.
▪ disagree▪The company argued there was no case to answer, but the court disagreed.
COURT + NOUN▪ bailiff, clerk, judge, official, registrar (BrE), staff, stenographer (esp. AmE), usher (BrE)▪She was appointed a high court judge in 1998.
▪ action, case, proceedings▪ hearing, trial▪ injunction, order, summons▪She tried to get a court order to prevent him from coming near her.
▪He received a court summons for non-payment of tax.
▪ decision, ruling▪ appearance▪Divorce no longer requires a court appearance.
▪ date▪Once a lawsuit is filed, a court date is set.
▪ battle▪They could now face a court battle for compensation.
▪ procedure, process▪ costs▪ document, record▪Court documents showing illegal transactions were released to the press.
▪ system▪ building, house (usually courthouse) (esp. AmE)PREPOSITION▪ at court▪He should be tried at the International Court in the Hague.
▪He was found guilty at Swindon Crown Court.
▪ before a/the court▪The case is now before the court.
▪ in court▪Relatives of the dead girl were in court.
PHRASES▪ contempt of court▪He was charged with contempt of court after shouting at a witness.
▪ a court of appeal▪The case may be heard by a court of appeal next month.
▪the Court of Appeal (in England and Wales)
▪the Court of Appeals (in the US)
▪ court of claims (in the US), court of inquiry (BrE), a court of law▪I don't think that argument would stand up in a court of law.
▪ a ward of court (BrE), a ward of the court (AmE)▪The child was made a ward of (the) court when her parents were jailed.
2 for sportsADJECTIVE▪ basketball, squash, tennis, etc.▪ clay, grass, hard▪She is a good player on hard courts.
▪He hopes to repeat his success on the grass courts of Wimbledon.
▪ indoor▪an indoor volleyball court
PREPOSITION▪ off (the) court▪The players are good friends off court and train together.
▪He was a real gentleman both on and off court and a delight to play.
▪ on (the) court▪The players have been on court for an hour.
3 kings/queensADJECTIVE▪ imperial, royal▪a member of the imperial court of Kyoto
COURT + NOUN▪ circles▪Mozart quickly became well known in court circles.
▪ jester▪Like a court jester in a medieval palace, he tried to amuse his rulers.
PREPOSITION▪ at (a/the) court▪life at the court of Charles I
▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}life at court
verbADVERB▪ actively, aggressively (AmE), assiduously▪The band has actively courted a young audience.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
