I. NOUN USES
(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
A ~ is a place where legal matters are decided by a judge and jury or by a magistrate.
At this rate, we could find ourselves in the divorce ~s!
...a county ~ judge...
He was deported on a ~ order following a conviction for armed robbery...
The 28-year-old striker was in ~ last week for breaking a rival player’s jaw.
N-COUNT: oft n N, N n, also in/at N
2.
You can refer to the people in a ~, especially the judge, jury, or magistrates, as a ~.
A ~ at Tampa, Florida has convicted five officials on drugs charges.
N-COUNT
3.
A ~ is an area in which you play a game such as tennis, basketball, badminton, or squash.
The hotel has several tennis and squash ~s...
She watched a few of the games while waiting to go on ~.
N-COUNT: usu supp N, also on/off N
4.
The ~ of a king or queen is the place where he or she lives and carries out ceremonial or administrative duties.
She came to visit England, where she was presented at the ~ of James I...
N-COUNT: oft with poss, also at N
5.
see also Crown Court , High Court , kangaroo ~
6.
If you go to ~ or take someone to ~, you take legal action against them.
They have received at least twenty thousand pounds each but had gone to ~ to demand more.
...members of trade associations who want to take bad debtors to ~.
PHRASE: V inflects
7.
If someone holds ~ in a place, they are surrounded by a lot of people who are paying them a lot of attention because they are interesting or famous.
...in the days when Marlene Dietrich and Ernest Hemingway held ~ in the famous El Floridita club.
PHRASE: V inflects
8.
If a legal matter is decided or settled out of ~, it is decided without legal action being taken in a ~ of law.
...a payment of two million pounds in an out of ~ settlement.
PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR n
II. VERB USES
(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
1.
To ~ a particular person, group, or country means to try to please them or improve your relations with them, often so that they will do something that you want them to do. (JOURNALISM)
Both Democratic and Republican parties are ~ing former supporters of Ross Perot...
VERB: V n
2.
If you ~ something such as publicity or popularity, you try to attract it.
Having spent a lifetime avidly ~ing publicity, Paul has suddenly become secretive.
VERB: V n
3.
If you ~ something unpleasant such as disaster or unpopularity, you act in a way that makes it likely to happen.
If he thinks he can remain in power by force he is ~ing disaster...
= invite
VERB: V n