com ‧ plaint S3 W3 /kəmˈpleɪnt/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: complainte , from complaindre ; ⇨ ↑ complain ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] a statement in which someone complains about something:
If you wish to make a complaint, you should see the manager.
The sales assistants are trained to deal with customer complaints in a friendly manner.
complaint about
Keating was dismissed after complaints about the quality of his work.
complaint of
complaints of police brutality
complaint from/to
complaints from local residents
a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority
complaint against
All complaints against police officers are carefully investigated.
complaint that
We are concerned by complaints that children are being bullied.
2 . [countable] something that you complain about:
Our main complaint was the poor standard of service.
My only complaint is that the price is rather high.
3 . [countable] formal an illness that affects a particular part of your body:
He is having treatment for a chest complaint.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ make a complaint (=complain formally to someone)
The manager of the team decided to make a complaint about the referee.
▪ file/lodge a complaint formal (=make a complaint)
She filed a complaint against several of her colleagues.
▪ have a complaint (=want to complain about something)
Please let us know if you have any complaints about our service.
▪ bring a complaint against somebody formal (=complain in a formal, legal way)
Higgins brought a complaint against his former manager.
▪ receive a complaint ( also have a complaint )
Our department has received a number of complaints from the public.
▪ deal with/handle a complaint
Police officers came to the house to deal with a complaint about noise.
▪ investigate a complaint
The dog was rescued after officials investigated a complaint of neglect.
▪ uphold a complaint (=say it is reasonable)
The complaint was upheld and the advertisement was withdrawn.
▪ a complaint concerns something/relates to something
We have received a number of complaints concerning faulty goods.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + complaint
▪ a formal/official complaint
The man has lodged a formal complaint against the police.
▪ a common/widespread/frequent complaint
A common complaint of children is that parents do not listen to them.
▪ a serious complaint
Serious complaints of negligence have been made.
▪ a customer/consumer complaint
As a result of the improvements, customer complaints went down by 70%.
▪ a bitter complaint (=a very angry one)
The people are full of bitter complaints about their government.
▪ a familiar complaint (=one that you have heard many times)
A lack of good public transport is a familiar complaint.
■ phrases
▪ cause/grounds for complaint (=a good reason to complain)
I do not think that he has any cause for complaint.
▪ a letter of complaint
I wrote a letter of complaint to the hospital manager.
▪ a complaints procedure (=a system for dealing with complaints)
There is a very straightforward complaints procedure you must follow.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ complaint something that you say or write when you are complaining, especially to someone in an official position:
If you have any complaints, please contact our customer relations department.
|
Our main complaint is the poor standard of service.
|
If you have a complaint, you should write to the manager.
| make a complaint :
Some employees are worried about what will happen to them if they make a complaint.
| complaint about :
Keating was dismissed after complaints about the quality of his work.
| formal complaint :
Mr Kelly has made a formal complaint against the police.
| letters of complaint :
The commission has so far received nearly 10,000 letters of complaint.
▪ protest when someone complains publicly about something that they think is wrong or unfair and should not be allowed to happen:
Despite their protests, the students’ fees were increased.
| in protest (=as a way of making a protest) :
When two members of the team were dismissed, the rest of them walked out in protest.
| protest against :
The ambassador lodged a formal protest against the proposals.
| ignore somebody’s protests :
Ignoring my protests, he took off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders.
▪ grievance something that you feel unhappy about because you think that you have been treated unfairly – use this especially about an official complaint you make about the place where you work: file a grievance (=officially complain) :
She filed a grievance last year after her supervisor refused to promote her.
| grievance against :
Anyone who has a legitimate grievance against the company can take it to the arbitration committee.
| air a grievance (=discuss a grievance publicly) :
The meetings give employees the opportunity to express their views or air grievances.