n.
Pronunciation: ' k ā s
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English cas, from Anglo-French, from Latin casus fall, chance, from cadere to fall ― more at CHANCE
Date: 13th century
1 a : a set of circumstances or conditions <is the statement true in all three case s > b (1) : a situation requiring investigation or action (as by the police) (2) : the object of investigation or consideration
2 : CONDITION specifically : condition of body or mind
3 [Middle English cas, from Anglo-French, from Latin casus, translation of Greek pt ō sis, literally, fall] a : an inflectional form of a noun, pronoun, or adjective indicating its grammatical relation to other words b : such a relation whether indicated by inflection or not
4 : what actually exists or happens : FACT <thought he had failed, but that wasn't the case >
5 a : a suit or action in law or equity b (1) : the evidence supporting a conclusion or judgment (2) : ARGUMENT especially : a convincing argument <makes a good case for adopting the proposal>
6 a : an instance of disease or injury <a case of pneumonia> also : PATIENT b : an instance that directs attention to a situation or exhibits it in action : EXAMPLE c : a peculiar person : CHARACTER
7 : oneself considered as an object of harassment or criticism <get off my case >
synonyms see INSTANCE
– in any case : without regard to or in spite of other considerations : whatever else is done or is the case <war is inevitable in any case > < in any case the report will be made public next month>
– in case : as a precaution <took an umbrella, just in case >
– in case of : in the event of < in case of trouble, yell>