courts
noun · verb
Form of court , plural of court.
Simple meaning
An enclosed space.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kawrtsIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkɔɹts
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
plural of court
An enclosed space; a courtyard; an uncovered area shut in by the walls of a building, or by different buildings; also, a space opening from a street and nearly surrounded by houses; a blind alley.
plural of courtHong Kongonly used in names
A housing estate under the Home Ownership Scheme.
plural of court
The family and retinue of a sovereign or prince
plural of courtAustraliaUS
A street with no outlet, a cul-de-sac.
verb
third-person singular of court
To seek to achieve or win (a prize).
third-person singular of court
To try to win a commitment to marry from.
third-person singular of court
To engage in behavior conducive to mating with.
third-person singular of court
To attempt to attract; to invite by attractions; to allure.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An enclosed space; a courtyard; an uncovered area shut in by the walls of a building, or by different buildings; also, a space opening from a street and nearly surrounded by houses; a blind alley.
Used this way, courts is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a legal use: the wording is institutional and carries a defined meaning in law rather than a loose everyday one.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Law/legal
- Government/politics
- Academic writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.