case
[noun]
Synonyms:
- instance, example, illustration, occasion, occurrence, specimen
- situation, circumstance(s), condition, context, contingency, event, position, state
- lawsuit, action, dispute, proceedings, suit, trial
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(Law)
[noun]
Synonyms:
- container, box, canister, carton, casket, chest, crate, holder, receptacle, suitcase, tray
- covering, capsule, casing, envelope, jacket, sheath, shell, wrapper

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Related Words: circumstance, episode, event, incident, occurrence, condition, situation, state

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English Thesaurus: example, case, instance, illustration, for example, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. case¹ S1 W1 /keɪs/ noun
[Sense 1-5, 7-16: Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: cas, from Latin casus 'fall, chance', from cadere 'to fall']
[Sense 6: Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old North French; Origin: casse, from Latin capsa 'box, case', from capere 'to take']

1. EXAMPLE [countable] an example of a particular situation or of something happening
case of
There were 16 cases of damage to cars in the area.
in the case of something
The amount of fruit in fruit juices must be 6% in the case of berries and 10% in the case of other fruits.
in some/many/most etc cases
In many cases standards have improved.
Tom’s career is a case in point (=a clear example of something that you are discussing or explaining).
a classic case (=typical example) of poor design

2. SITUATION [countable usually singular] a situation that exists, especially as it affects a particular person or group
in sb’s case
Like the others, he produced a written explanation, but in Scott’s case this was a 30-page printed booklet.
Changing men’s and women’s traditional roles is not easy, but in our case it has been helpful.
it is the case (that)
It may be the case that the scheme will need more money.
We tend to think of these people as untrustworthy, but that is not the case.
in this case
In this case, several solutions could be tried.
in which case
He won’t want to eat it unless he’s really hungry, in which case he’ll eat almost anything.

3. (just) in case
a) as a way of being safe from something that might happen or might be true:
Take an umbrella, in case it rains.
He had his camera ready, just in case he saw something that would make a good picture.
b) American English if:
In case I’m late, start without me.
GRAMMAR
In case is followed by the simple present, the simple past, or 'should':
Write it down in case you forget (NOT in case you will forget).
They locked themselves in their houses in case there was (NOT would be) more trouble.
Here’s a contact number, in case there should (NOT will/would) be a problem.

4. in any case whatever happens or happened:
I don’t see why I couldn’t do it. In any case, I’m going to try.
He’s too young to come and in any case I want him to spend the time with Mom.

5. in that case if that is the situation:
‘He didn’t want to talk to Sally.’ ‘In that case why did he agree to meet her?’

6. REASON/ARGUMENT [countable usually singular] a set of reasons why something should happen or be done:
Let me research the facts before I put forward a case.
case for
A group of us met to make our case for more women in the cabinet.
There is a strong case (=very good set of reasons) for getting parents more involved in the school’s activities.

7. LAW/CRIME [countable]
a) a question or problem that will be dealt with by a law court:
She is keen to avoid a court case.
The lawyers will only be paid if they win the case.
case against
Marshall has dropped the case against us.
b) all the reasons that one side in a legal argument can give against the other side:
The evidence does not support the prosecution’s case.
The court ruled that we had a case (=had enough evidence or good arguments).
c) an event or set of events that need to be dealt with by the police in order to find out if a crime has been committed and who committed it
case of
a case of armed robbery
on the case
Around 50 police officers are on the case.

8. BOX/CONTAINER [countable]
a) a large box or container in which things can be stored or moved:
a packing case
a case of wine
b) a special box used as a container for holding or protecting something:
a jewellery case
Jim put his violin back in its case.
c) British English a suitcase:
Polly carried her cases upstairs to the bedroom. ⇒ bookcase, briefcase, pillowcase

9. it’s a case of something spoken used before describing a situation:
Everyone can learn, it’s just a case of practising.
It’s a case of too many people and not enough jobs.

10. DISEASE [countable] an example of a disease or a person who has a disease
case of
There are thousands of new cases of AIDS in Africa every year.

11. in case of something used to describe what you should do in a particular situation, especially on official notices:
In case of fire, break the glass.

12. GRAMMAR [uncountable and countable] technical the way in which the form of a word changes, showing its relationship to other words in a sentence:
case endings

13. be on sb’s case informal to be criticizing someone constantly:
Dad’s always on my case about something or other.

14. be on the case spoken if someone says they are on the case, they know about a problem and are going to try to solve it

15. get off my case spoken used to tell someone to stop criticizing you or complaining about you:
OK, OK, just get off my case!

16. PERSON [countable] someone who is being dealt with by a doctor, a social worker, the police etc ⇒ BASKET-CASE, nutcase, lower case, ⇒ I rest my case at rest²(9), ⇒ upper case

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. case² verb [transitive]

1. be cased in something to be completely surrounded by a material or substance:
The reactor will be cased in metal. ⇒ casing

2. case the joint informal to look around a place that you intend to steal from in order to find out information

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

case
noun
I. example
ADJ. classic, textbook, typical | clear, obvious, simple It was a simple case of mistaken identity.
borderline After the exams, the teacher gave all borderline cases a spoken test.
extreme | isolated, rare Except in a few rare cases, bee stings are not dangerous.
exceptional, special | striking
VERB + CASE highlight, illustrate, show He highlighted the case of Harry Farr, 25, who was executed for cowardice in 1916.
CASE + VERB arise, occur The committee has full powers to deal with any cases of malpractice that arise.
CASE + NOUN study a case study of an Amazonian tribe
example
PREP. in sb's/this ~ In her case, she failed the exam because she wasn't well.
~ of a case of animal cruelty
PHRASES case by case/on a case by case basis Complaints are dealt with on a case by case basis.
a case in point Many professions feel they deserve higher pay, and nurses are a case in point.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

case
II. true situation
VERB + CASE be, remain It remains the case that not enough graduates are going into teaching.
overstate, understate I agree with him, but don't you think he slightly overstates the case?

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

case
III. of a disease
ADJ. acute, chronic | advanced, serious, severe | mild
CASE + NOUN history Medical students study the case histories of many patients.
file, notes, records, report
PREP. ~ of a severe case of food poisoning

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

case
IV. police investigation
ADJ. notorious the notorious case of the Botley strangler
tragic | murder, robbery
VERB + CASE investigate, work on Four police officers are investigating the case.
crack, solve They never solved the Jones murder case.
CASE + NOUN officer Carter was the senior case officer on the investigation.
PREP. on the ~ A detective is on the case at the moment.
~ of a case of theft

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

case
V. in a court of law
ADJ. court | criminal | civil | test This is a test case which will influence what other judges decide.
divorce
VERB + CASE bring The victim decided to bring a case of rape against him.
handle This was the hardest case she had handled since becoming a lawyer.
consider, hear, try The court will consider the case soon. The case will be heard in the Court of Appeal.
adjourn | dismiss, throw out The case was thrown out for lack of evidence.
drop The prosecution decided to drop the case.
decide, settle The case was settled out of court.
win | lose | review
CASE + VERB come before sb, come to court, go to court, go to trial The case came before Judge Hales in the Crown Court. He was so clearly innocent, the case should never have gone to court.
collapse The case against her collapsed when a key witness was proved to have lied.
centre on sth, hinge on sth, rest on sth, turn on sth The case hinged on the evidence of the only witness to the killing.
raise sth The case raises a number of issues.
PREP. in a/the ~ the evidence in the case
~ against The case against her was very weak.
~ of
PHRASES a/no case to answer The judge ruled that the defendant had no case to answer, as the evidence had been discredited.
the circumstances/facts of a case

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

case
VI. arguments
ADJ. convincing, good, powerful, strong | open-and-shut, unanswerable With his current superb form, he presents an unanswerable case for selection in the team.
weak | defence, prosecution/prosecution's
VERB + CASE have Our lawyer didn't think we had a case (= had enough good arguments to win in a court of law).
prepare The defendant requested more time to prepare his case.
outline, set out | deliver, make (out), present, put, state You can make out a case for changing our teaching methods.
argue, plead I thought she argued her case very well.
take up The local MP has taken up the case of the family of six who have been left homeless.
judge The teacher must judge each case according to its merits.
bolster, help, support What evidence do you have to support your case?
weaken
CASE + VERB exist A strong case exists for adopting a similar system in this country.
PREP. ~ against Is there a case against wearing school uniforms?
~ for
PHRASES the case for the defence/prosecution, the merits of a case The disciplinary committee considered the merits of his case before fining him.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

case
VII. container
ADJ. display She kept all her trophies in a display case.
presentation a gold wristwatch in a presentation case
carrying He put the binoculars back in their carrying case.
packing | glass The room was full of stuffed animals in glass cases.
cigarette, glasses, jewellery, pencil, pillow | guitar, violin, etc.
PREP. in/inside a/the ~, out of a/the ~

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

case
VIII. suitcase
ADJ. attache | overnight
 ⇒ See SUITCASE (for other collocates with case)

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

case
IX. grammar
ADJ. ablative, accusative, dative, genitive, instrumental, locative, nominative, vocative
VERB + CASE take In Polish the verb ‘to be’ takes the instrumental case.
CASE + NOUN ending

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

case

a court case
There was a lot of publicity surrounding the court case.
a murder case
He had been a witness in a murder case.
a libel case (=against someone who has written a bad statement about someone else)
damages awarded by juries in libel cases
a criminal case
It was the longest and most expensive criminal case in US history.
a civil case (=not a criminal case)
He is involved with civil cases, not criminal ones.
a test case (=one that will establish a principle for the first time)
If the dispute goes to court it could be an important test case.
a landmark case (=one that established a principle for the first time)
a landmark case about copyright protection for computer software
a high-profile case (=one that gets a lot of attention)
a defense lawyer who has handled some high-profile cases
bring a case (against somebody)
There was not enough evidence to bring a case against him.
hear/try a case (=listen to the evidence before making a judgment)
The case will be heard by a federal judge.
win/lose a case (=be successful or unsuccessful in proving someone guilty or not guilty)
Lomax was a brilliant lawyer who had never lost a case.
settle a case (=end it finally)
He paid a $15,000 fine to settle the case.
adjourn a case (=stop it for a short time)
The case was adjourned until next month for further reports.
dismiss/throw out a case (=officially stop it from continuing)
The case was thrown out by New York state’s highest court.
drop a case (=not continue with it)
The case was dropped because of a lack of evidence.
a case comes/goes to court
When the case finally came to court, they were found not guilty.
a case comes/goes to trial
By the time her case went to trial, her story had changed.
a case comes before a judge/court
The case came before the federal courts.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

case
noun
1.
BAD: Switzerland has very little unemployment and in this case we are very lucky.
GOOD: Switzerland has very little unemployment and in this respect we are very lucky.

Usage Note:
in this/that case = in these/those circumstances: 'What shall I do if there are no trains?' 'In that case you'll have to go by bus.'
in this/that respect = with regard to this/that point or detail: 'The film is full of violence and in this respect is unsuitable for children.'

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2.
BAD: I advise you to eat something now in case there won't be any food when we get there.
GOOD: I advise you to eat something now in case there isn't any food when we get there.

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3.
BAD: In case a woman goes out to work, she shouldn't have to do all the housework.
GOOD: If a woman goes out to work, she shouldn't have to do all the housework.

Usage Note:
In British English in case is used only when you talk about something that is done as a precaution: 'Let's wait for another five minutes, just in case he shows up.'
In American English in case is sometimes used like if at the beginning of a conditional clause.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

example something that you mention because it is typical of the kind of thing that you are talking about:
The hall is a perfect example of medieval architecture.
There are many ways in which technology has changed our lives. The car is an obvious example.
This painting is a typical example of Picasso’s work in his Blue Period.
case an example of something that happens, especially something bad:
There have been some cases of women employees being fired because they are pregnant.
In one case a man was charged $2,000 for a simple medical check-up.
Recent government spending on schools is a classic case of too little, too late.
instance an example of a particular kind of situation or event, especially something bad. Instance is more formal than case:
Some users of Ecstasy have actually died, but such instances are very rare.
The report describes instances of discrimination.
In a few rare instances, the disease can cause death.
illustration something, especially a story or situation, that you use as an example:
As an illustration of this, consider the following example.
He mentioned the recent events in the Middle East by way of illustration (=as an example).
for example used when giving an example:
Prices have risen sharply. The price of gasoline, for example, has risen by over 50%.
Nepal has many attractions for visitors. For example, you can go trekking in the Himalayas, or see tigers in Chitwan National Park.
for instance used when giving an example. For instance is slightly less formal than for example and is used more in spoken English:
There were many unanswered questions. For instance, where was the money going to come from?
Some people are really good languages. Take Katie, for instance.
eg/e.g. written used when giving an example or a list of examples. Don’t use eg in formal writing – use the full phrase for example:
Make sure you eat foods that contain protein, e.g. meat, fish, eggs, milk, or cheese.
such as especially written used when giving one or two typical examples when there are many others:
It is difficult to get even basic foods such as bread and sugar.
take spoken used when giving a particular example as a way of proving that what you are saying is correct:
Take John – he has a good job but he didn’t go to university.
It is possible to recover from some types of cancer. Take skin cancer, for example.
be a case in point used when emphasizing that someone or something is a good or typical example of what you have just mentioned:
Some birds have returned to Britain after once being extinct here. The return of the osprey is a case in point.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

investigate to try to find out the truth about something such as a crime, accident, or scientific problem:
Police are investigating an explosion in the city centre.
The aim of the study is to investigate how climate change is affecting animal behaviour.
There were fears he may have drowned in the lake, so divers were sent down to investigate.
look into something to find out more about a problem, especially after someone has asked you to do this:
The manager promised to look into my complaint.
Please could you look into the matter for me?
explore to consider or discuss something, in order to help you decide what you should do:
Military leaders are exploring new ways of defending the United States from terrorism.
I’m going to explore the possibility of a part-time job.
probe [intransitive and transitive] to try to find secret or hidden information, especially by asking questions:
The press began probing into the actor’s private life.
We have been probing the reasons why the government has been so slow to react to the problem of climate change.
delve [intransitive] to look somewhere in order to try to find more information about something, especially something that is difficult to find out about:
Over the past year Ms Deen has been delving into the national archives, in order to discover information on the early Muslim settlers.
I think we need to delve a little deeper.
be under investigation if someone or their activities are under investigation, the police are trying to find out if they have done something illegal:
Several public figures are under investigation for corruption.
investigation a process in which the police or another organization try to find out the truth about a crime or accident:
Following a major police investigation, two men were arrested.
The investigation into the causes of the air crash are continuing.
inquiry an official process to find out why something happened, which usually takes several months or years:
Local people are calling for an inquiry into the accident.
An independent inquiry found serious shortcomings at the children’s home.
case a matter that police or officials are trying to find out information about, especially so that it can be dealt with in a court of law:
The case has never been solved.
The police say it is one of the most puzzling cases they have had to deal with.
inquest a legal investigation to find out why someone died:
The inquest heard that Mr Swan was poisoned.
survey a process in which people are asked questions in order to find out about their opinions or about their behaviour:
They did a survey to find out the most popular pop star.
Based on a survey of 250 companies, the report says that ‘ over two thirds of companies expect operating costs to increase as a result of addressing environmental issues.
autopsy British English a medical examination of a dead person’s body, to find out why that person died:
If she died of a drug overdose, it would show up in the autopsy.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

investigation a process in which the police or another organization try to find out the truth about a crime or accident:
Following a major police investigation, two men were arrested.
The investigation into the causes of the air crash are continuing.
inquiry an official process to find out why something happened, which usually takes several months or years:
Local people are calling for an inquiry into the accident.
An independent inquiry found serious shortcomings at the children’s home.
case a matter that police or officials are trying to find out information about, especially so that it can be dealt with in a court of law:
The case has never been solved.
The police say it is one of the most puzzling cases they have had to deal with.
probe an investigation in which many questions are asked to find out the truth about something – used especially in journalism:
The TV show featured a probe into charges charged by high street banks.
inquest a legal investigation to find out why someone died:
The inquest heard that Mr Swan was poisoned.
survey a process in which people are asked questions in order to find out about their opinions or about their behaviour:
They did a survey to find out the most popular pop star.
Based on a survey of 250 companies, the report says that ‘ over two thirds of companies expect operating costs to increase as a result of addressing environmental issues.
autopsy British English a medical examination of a dead person’s body, to find out why that person died:
If she died of a drug overdose, it would show up in the autopsy.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

case
̈ɪkeɪs
See: basket case , circumstances alter cases , couch case , get down to brass tacks also get down to cases , in any case , in case or in the event , in case of also in the event of , vanity case

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

CASE
See: Council of American States in Europe

[TahlilGaran] Acronyms and Abbreviations Dictionary ▲