case

[ keys ]

/ keɪs /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR case ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an instance of the occurrence, existence, etc., of something: Sailing in such a storm was a case of poor judgment.

the actual state of things: That is not the case.

a question or problem of moral conduct; matter: a case of conscience.

situation; circumstance; plight: Mine is a sad case.

a person or thing whose plight or situation calls for attention: This family is a hardship case.

a specific occurrence or matter requiring discussion, decision, or investigation, as by officials or law-enforcement authorities: The police studied the case of the missing jewels.

a stated argument used to support a viewpoint: He presented a strong case against the proposed law.

an instance of disease, injury, etc., requiring medical or surgical attention or treatment; individual affliction: She had a severe case of chicken pox.

a medical or surgical patient.

Law.

a suit or action at law; cause.
a set of facts giving rise to a legal claim, or to a defense to a legal claim.

Grammar.

a category in the inflection of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives, noting the syntactic relation of these words to other words in the sentence, indicated by the form or the position of the words.
a set of such categories in a particular language.
the meaning of or the meaning typical of such a category.
such categories or their meanings collectively.

Informal. a peculiar or unusual person: He's a case.

Idioms for case

get/be on someone's case, Slang. to bother or nag someone; meddle in someone's affairs: Her brother is always on her case about getting married. Why do you keep getting on my case?

get off someone's case, Slang. to stop bothering or criticizing someone or interfering in someone's affairs: I've had enough of your advice, so just get off my case.

have a case on, Slang. to be infatuated with: He had a case on the girl next door.

in any case, regardless of circumstances; be that as it may; anyhow: In any case, there won't be any necessity for you to come along.

in case, if it should happen that; if: In case I am late, don't wait to start dinner.

in case of, in the event of; if there should be: In case of an error in judgment, the group leader will be held responsible.

in no case, under no condition; never: He should in no case be allowed to get up until he has completely recovered from his illness.

Origin of case

before 1150; Middle English ca(a)s < Anglo-French, Old French cas < Latin cāsus fall, accident, event, grammatical case (translation of Greek ptôsis), equivalent to cad(ere) to fall + -tus suffix of v. action; compare Old English cāsus grammatical case

synonym study for case

1. Case, instance, example, illustration suggest the existence or occurrence of a particular thing representative of its type. Case and instance are closely allied in meaning, as are example and illustration. Case is a general word, meaning a fact, occurrence, or situation typical of a class: a case of assault and battery. An instance is a concrete factual case which is adduced to explain a general idea: an instance of a brawl in which an assault occurred. An example is one typical case, usually from many similar ones, used to make clear or explain the working of a principle (what may be expected of any others of the group): This boy is an example of the effect of strict discipline. An illustration exemplifies a theory or principle similarly, except that the choice may be purely hypothetical: The work of Seeing Eye dogs is an illustration of what is thought to be intelligence in animals.

OTHER WORDS FROM case

case·less, adjective case·less·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH case

encase in case

Words nearby case

cascading style sheet, cascara, cascara sagrada, cascarilla, casco bay, case, case bay, case card, case ending, case fatality rate, case glass

British Dictionary definitions for in case (1 of 2)

case ¹

/ (keɪs) /

noun

a single instance, occurrence, or example of something

an instance of disease, injury, hardship, etc

a question or matter for discussion the case before the committee

a specific condition or state of affairs; situation

a set of arguments supporting a particular action, cause, etc

a person attended or served by a doctor, social worker, solicitor, etc; patient or client
(as modifier)a case study

an action or suit at law or something that forms sufficient grounds for bringing an actionhe has a good case
the evidence offered in court to support a claim

grammar

a set of grammatical categories of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives, marked by inflection in some languages, indicating the relation of the noun, adjective, or pronoun to other words in the sentence
any one of these categoriesthe nominative case

informal a person in or regarded as being in a specified condition the accident victim was a hospital case; he's a mental case

informal a person of a specified character (esp in the phrase a hard case)

informal an odd person; eccentric

US informal love or infatuation

short for case shot See canister (def. 2b)

as the case may be according to the circumstances

in any case (adverb) no matter what; anyhow we will go in any case

in case (adverb)

in order to allow for eventualities
(as conjunction) in order to allow for the possibility thattake your coat in case it rains
US if

in case of (preposition) in the event of

in no case (adverb) under no circumstances in no case should you fight back

Word Origin for case

Old English casus (grammatical) case, associated also with Old French cas a happening; both from Latin cāsus, a befalling, occurrence, from cadere to fall

British Dictionary definitions for in case (2 of 2)

case ²

/ (keɪs) /

noun

a container, such as a box or chest
(in combination)suitcase; briefcase

an outer cover or sheath, esp for a watch

a receptacle and its contents a case of ammunition

a pair or brace, esp of pistols

architect another word for casing (def. 3)

a completed cover ready to be fastened to a book to form its binding

printing a tray divided into many compartments in which a compositor keeps individual metal types of a particular size and style. Cases were originally used in pairs, one (the upper case) for capitals, the other (the lower case) for small letters See also upper case, lower case

metallurgy the surface of a piece of steel that has been case-hardened

verb (tr)

to put into or cover with a case to case the machinery

slang to inspect carefully (esp a place to be robbed)

Word Origin for case

C13: from Old French casse, from Latin capsa, from capere to take, hold

Medical definitions for in case

case

[ kās ]

n.

An occurrence of a disease or disorder.

Cultural definitions for in case

case

A grammatical category indicating whether nouns and pronouns are functioning as the subject of a sentence (nominative case) or the object of a sentence (objective case), or are indicating possession (possessive case). He is in the nominative case, him is in the objective case, and his is in the possessive case. In a language such as English, nouns do not change their form in the nominative or objective case. Only pronouns do. Thus, ball stays the same in both “the ball is thrown,” where it is the subject, and in “Harry threw the ball,” where it is the object.

Idioms and Phrases with in case (1 of 2)

in case

Also, just in case. If it should happen that. For example, In case he doesn't show up, we have a backup speaker. The variant also is used without a following clause to mean simply “as a precaution,” as in I took an umbrella just in case. [c. 1400]

in case of; in the event of. If there should happen to be. For example, Here is a number to call in case of an emergency, or In the event of a power failure, we'll have to shift our plans. Similarly, in that case means “if that should happen,” as in You're alone in the store? In that case I'll bring your lunch. The first usage dates from the early 1700s, the second (with event) from about 1600, and the third from the mid-1800s. Also see in any case; in no case; in the case of.

Idioms and Phrases with in case (2 of 2)

case

In addition to the idiom beginning with case

case in point

also see:

basket case
get down to brass tacks (cases)
have a case on
in any case
in case of
in no case
in the case of
just in case
make a federal case
off someone's back (case)
open and shut case

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

case

noun

Idioms for case

Origin of case

synonym study for case

OTHER WORDS FROM case

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH case

Words nearby case

British Dictionary definitions for in case (1 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for case

British Dictionary definitions for in case (2 of 2)

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for case

Medical definitions for in case

n.

Cultural definitions for in case

Idioms and Phrases with in case (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with in case (2 of 2)

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

case

noun

Idioms for case

Origin of case

synonym study for case

OTHER WORDS FROM case

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH case

Words nearby case

Words related to in case

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for in case (1 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for case

British Dictionary definitions for in case (2 of 2)

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for case

Medical definitions for in case

n.

Cultural definitions for in case

Idioms and Phrases with in case (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with in case (2 of 2)

British Dictionary definitions for in case (1 of 2)