Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - case

I. [c red]INSTANCES AND OTHER ABSTRACT MEANINGS (cases) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. A particular case is a particular situation or incident, especially one that you are using as an individual example or instance of something. Surgical training takes at least nine years, or 11 in the case of obstetrics... One of the effects of dyslexia, in my case at least, is that you pay tremendous attention to detail... The Honduran press published reports of eighteen cases of alleged baby snatching. N-COUNT: oft in N, N of n 2. A case is a person or their particular problem that a doctor, social worker, or other professional is dealing with. ...the case of a 57-year-old man who had suffered a stroke... Some cases of arthritis respond to a gluten-free diet... Child protection workers were meeting to discuss her case. N-COUNT 3. If you say that someone is a sad case or a hopeless case, you mean that they are in a sad situation or a hopeless situation. I knew I was going to make it–that I wasn’t a hopeless case. N-COUNT: adj N see also basket case, nutcase 4. A case is a crime or mystery that the police are investigating. Mr. Hitchens said you have solved some very unusual cases. N-COUNT 5. The case for or against a plan or idea consists of the facts and reasons used to support it or oppose it. He sat there while I made the case for his dismissal... Both these facts strengthen the case against hanging... She argued her case. N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N for/against n 6. In law, a case is a trial or other legal inquiry. It can be difficult for public figures to win a libel case... The case was brought by his family, who say their reputation has been damaged by allegations about him. N-COUNT see also test case 7. You say in any case when you are adding something which is more important than what you have just said, but which supports or corrects it. The concert was booked out, and in any case, most of the people gathered in the square could not afford the price of a ticket. = anyway, besides PHRASE: PHR with cl c darkgreen]emphasis 8. You say in any case after talking about things that you are not sure about, to emphasize that your next statement is the most important thing or the thing that you are sure about. Either he escaped, or he came to grief. In any case, he was never seen again. = at any rate PHRASE: PHR with cl c darkgreen]emphasis 9. If you do something in case or just in case a particular thing happens, you do it because that thing might happen. In case anyone was following me, I made an elaborate detour... PHRASE 10. If you do something or have something in case of a particular thing, you do it or have it because that thing might happen or be true. Many shops along the route have been boarded up in case of trouble. PREP-PHRASE: PHR n 11. You use in case in expressions like ‘in case you didn’t know’ or ‘in case you’ve forgotten’ when you are telling someone in a rather irritated way something that you think is either obvious or none of their business. She’s nervous about something, in case you didn’t notice... PHRASE: PHR with cl c darkgreen]feelings 12. You say in that case or in which case to indicate that what you are going to say is true if the possible situation that has just been mentioned actually exists. Members are concerned that a merger might mean higher costs, in which case they would oppose it. PHRASE: PHR with cl 13. You can say that you are doing something just in case to refer vaguely to the possibility that a thing might happen or be true, without saying exactly what it is. I guess we’ve already talked about this but I’ll ask you again just in case. PHRASE: PHR with cl 14. You say as the case may be or whatever the case may be to indicate that the statement you are making applies equally to the two or more alternatives that you have mentioned. They know how everything works–or doesn’t work, as the case may be. PHRASE 15. If you say that a task or situation is a case of a particular thing, you mean that it consists of that thing or can be described as that thing. It’s not a case of whether anyone would notice or not. PHRASE 16. If you say that something is a case in point, you mean that it is a good example of something you have just mentioned. In many cases religious persecution is the cause of people fleeing their country. A case in point is colonial India. PHRASE 17. If you say that something is the case, you mean that it is true or correct. You’ll probably notice her having difficulty swallowing. If this is the case, give her plenty of liquids... Consumers had hoped the higher prices would mean more goods in stores. But that was not the case. PHRASE: V inflects 18. If you say that someone is on the case, you mean that they are aware of a particular problem and are trying to resolve it. The CompuServe management is on the case now, and it looks as if things will return to normal soon. PHRASE II. [c red]CONTAINERS (cases) 1. A case is a container that is specially designed to hold or protect something. ...a black case for his spectacles. N-COUNT: oft n N see also attache case, bookcase, briefcase, packing case, pillowcase, showcase 2. A case is a suitcase. N-COUNT 3. A case of wine or other alcoholic drink is a box containing a number of bottles, usually twelve, which is sold as a single unit. N-COUNT: oft N of n III. [c red]GRAMMAR TERM (cases) 1. In the grammar of many languages, the case of a group such as a noun group or adjective group is the form it has which shows its relationship to other groups in the sentence. N-COUNT 2. see accusative see nominative see also lower case, upper case