[uncountable and countable]the place where a trial is held, or the people there, especially the judge and the jury who examine the evidence and decide whether someone is guilty or not guiltyCOLLOCATIONS COLLOCATIONS court of law court case appear in court go to court take somebody to court (=bring a legal case against someone) bring a case to court a case comes to court settle something out of court (=reach an agreement about a dispute without using the court) be thrown out of court (=a judge refuses to consider a case) a case is heard in court (=a case is dealt with by a court) the court (=the judge, the jury, and the other people in a court) criminal court (=a court where cases about crimes are heard) civil court (=a court where cases about civil disagreements are heard)
A crowd of reporters had gathered outside the court.
at laugh1 (6), food courtWORD FOCUS: court WORD FOCUS: court people in a court of law:judge, magistrate, jury, defenceBritish English/defenseAmerican English, prosecution, defendant, witness, attorney, lawyer, barristerBritish English, solicitorBritish English, district attorneyAmerican English what happens in a court case:At the beginning of the trial, the person who is accusedpleads guiltyornot guiltyto thechargesagainst them. The lawyers for the prosecution try toprovethat the defendant is guilty, and the lawyers for the defence try to prove that their client is innocent. The judge and the juryexamine the evidenceand listen to thetestimonyof the witnesses. At the end of the trial, the judge thensums upthe case, and the jury thengives their verdict. If the person isfound guilty, the judgesentencesthem to a period of time in prison, or orders them to pay afine. If the person isfound not guilty, they arereleased.court ➔crime, criminal
Definition of court from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within the topic SPORT