What does plaintiff mean?

Definitions for plaintiff
ˈpleɪn tɪfplain·tiff

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word plaintiff.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. plaintiff, complainantnoun

    a person who brings an action in a court of law

Wiktionary

  1. plaintiffnoun

    A party bringing a suit in civil law against a defendant; accusers.

  2. Etymology: From plaintif, from plaintif from the verb plaindre. See plaintive.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Plaintiffadjective

    Complaining. A word not in use.

    Etymology: plaintif, Fr.

    His younger son on the polluted ground,
    First fruit of death, lies plaintiff of a wound
    Giv’n by a brother’s hand. Matthew Prior.

  2. Plaintiffnoun

    He that commences a suit in law against another; opposed to the defendant.

    Etymology: plaintif, Fr.

    The plaintiff proved the debt by three positive witnesses, and the defendant was cast in costs and damages. Roger L'Estrange.

    You and I shall talk in cold friendship at a bar before a judge, by way of plaintiff and defendant. Dryden.

    In such a cause the plaintiff will be hiss’d,
    My lord, the judges laugh, and you’re dismiss’d. Alexander Pope.

Wikipedia

  1. Plaintiff

    A plaintiff (Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an action) before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy; if this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the plaintiff and make the appropriate court order (e.g., an order for damages). "Plaintiff" is the term used in civil cases in most English-speaking jurisdictions, the notable exception being England and Wales, where a plaintiff has, since the introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules in 1999, been known as a "claimant", but that term also has other meanings. In criminal cases, the prosecutor brings the case against the defendant, but the key complaining party is often called the "complainant". In some jurisdictions, a lawsuit is commenced by filing a summons, claim form or a complaint. These documents are known as pleadings, that set forth the alleged wrongs committed by the defendant or defendants with a demand for relief. In other jurisdictions, the action is commenced by service of legal process by delivery of these documents on the defendant by a process server; they are only filed with the court subsequently with an affidavit from the process server that they had been given to the defendant according to the rules of civil procedure.

ChatGPT

  1. plaintiff

    A plaintiff is a person or a party who brings a legal lawsuit or case against another in a court of law. They are the accusing party, alleging that they have incurred damages from the defendant's actions or inactions, and typically seek restitution or other remedies.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Plaintiffnoun

    one who commences a personal action or suit to obtain a remedy for an injury to his rights; -- opposed to defendant

  2. Plaintiffadjective

    see Plaintive

  3. Etymology: [F. plaintif making complaint, plaintive; in Old French equiv. to plaignant complainant, prosecutor, fr. plaindre. See Plaint, and cf. Plaintive.]

Wikidata

  1. Plaintiff

    A plaintiff, also known as a claimant or complainant, is the term used in some jurisdictions for the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court. In other words, someone who tries to sue. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy, and if successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the plaintiff and make the appropriate court order. In some jurisdictions the commencement of a lawsuit is done by filing a summons, claim form and/or a complaint. These documents are known as pleadings, that set forth the alleged wrongs committed by the defendant or defendants with a demand for relief. In other jurisdictions the action is commenced by service of legal process by delivery of these documents on the defendant by a process server; they are only filed with the court subsequently with an affidavit from the process server that they had been given to the defendant according to the rules of civil procedure. Not all lawsuits are plenary actions, involving a full trial on the merits of the case. There are also simplified procedures, often called proceedings, in which the parties are termed petitioner instead of plaintiff, and respondent instead of defendant. There are also cases that do not technically involve two sides, such as petitions for specific statutory relief that require judicial approval; in those cases there are no respondents, just a petitioner.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'plaintiff' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3392

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'plaintiff' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2764

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'plaintiff' in Nouns Frequency: #1141

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce plaintiff?

How to say plaintiff in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of plaintiff in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of plaintiff in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of plaintiff in a Sentence

  1. Jennifer Connell:

    The injuries, losses and harm to the plaintiff were caused by the negligence and carelessness of the minor defendant in that a reasonable eight year old under those circumstances would know or should have known that a forceful greeting such as the one delivered by the defendant could cause the harms and losses suffered by the plaintiff.

  2. Matt McNicholas:

    It ended up, I believe, saving the taxpayers money and probably putting more money in the plaintiff's pocket.

  3. Steve Berman:

    For decades, USC has silenced the women who were violated in unspeakable ways by Dr. Tyndall, willfully ignoring the alarming complaints from nurses and patients as more and more students were sent into his office, our plaintiff and other women have bravely stepped forward to report these heinous acts, and through this lawsuit, we intend to hold defendants accountable.

  4. Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel:

    In a way very similar how a plaintiff’s lawyer on contingency would do it.

  5. Andrew Brettler:

    We believe, however, that this is a baseless, non-viable and potentially unlawful lawsuit that plaintiff has filed against the Duke. There has been a settlement agreement that the plaintiff has entered into in a prior action that releases the Duke and others from any and all potential liability.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

plaintiff#1#8073#10000

Translations for plaintiff

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for plaintiff »

Translation

Find a translation for the plaintiff definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"plaintiff." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 Dec. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/plaintiff>.

Discuss these plaintiff definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for plaintiff? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    return to its original or usable and functioning condition
    A aggravate
    B deny
    C restore
    D refine

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for plaintiff: