court
verb/kɔːt/
/kɔːrt/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they court | /kɔːt/ /kɔːrt/ |
| he / she / it courts | /kɔːts/ /kɔːrts/ |
| past simple courted | /ˈkɔːtɪd/ /ˈkɔːrtɪd/ |
| past participle courted | /ˈkɔːtɪd/ /ˈkɔːrtɪd/ |
| -ing form courting | /ˈkɔːtɪŋ/ /ˈkɔːrtɪŋ/ |
- [transitive] court somebody to try to please somebody in order to get something you want, especially the support of a person, an organization, etc. synonym cultivate
- Both candidates have spent the last month courting the media.
Extra Examples- He spent three months assiduously courting a newspaper editor.
- The band has actively courted a young audience.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- actively
- aggressively
- assiduously
- …
- [transitive] court something (formal) to try to obtain something
- He has never courted popularity.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- actively
- aggressively
- assiduously
- …
- [transitive] court something (formal) to do something that might result in something unpleasant happening
- to court danger/death/disaster
- As a politician he has often courted controversy.
- [transitive, intransitive] court (somebody) (old-fashioned) to have a romantic relationship with somebody that you hope to marry
- He had been courting Jane for six months.
- At that time they had been courting for several years.
- Your grandfather and I were still courting at the time.
- court something (of a male bird or other animal) to try to attract a female
try to please
try to get
invite something bad
have relationship
animals
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French cort, from Latin cohors, cohort- ‘yard or retinue’. The verb is influenced by Old Italian corteare, Old French courtoyer. Compare with cohort.
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court