WordValelawsuit
a claim brought to a court for resolution
In more detail
a legal case where one person or organization takes another to court to resolve a dispute or claim damages
Examples
- She filed a lawsuit against the company for wrongful termination.
- The lawsuit was settled out of court.
How to use lawsuit
A lawsuit is the formal legal process of taking a dispute to court, commonly used in both legal and everyday contexts. It is more general than 'litigation', which emphasizes the process itself, and refers to the action or case as a whole. Lawsuit appears frequently in news, business, and legal discussions.
Common phrases
- file a lawsuit
- win a lawsuit
- settle a lawsuit
- lawsuit against someone
- costly lawsuit
- pending lawsuit
Synonyms
legal action · legal case · suit · court case · litigation
Word family
litigate (verb) · litigation (noun) · litigant (noun) · litigious (adjective)
A common mistake
Learners sometimes use 'lawsuit' and 'trial' interchangeably, but a lawsuit encompasses the entire legal process, while a trial is only the courtroom phase of a lawsuit.
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