course

1 of 2

noun

ˈkȯrs How to pronounce course (audio)
Synonyms of coursenext
1
: the act or action of moving in a path from point to point
the planets in their courses
2
: the path over which something moves or extends: such as
a
: racecourse
b(1)
: the direction of travel of a vehicle (such as a ship or airplane) usually measured as a clockwise angle from north
also : the projected path of travel
(2)
: a point of the compass
c
: watercourse
d
: golf course
3
a
: accustomed procedure or normal action
the law taking its course
b
: a chosen manner of conducting oneself : way of acting
Our wisest course is to retreat.
c(1)
: progression through a development or period or a series of acts or events
the course of history
(2)
: life history, career
4
: an ordered process or succession: such as
a
: a number of lectures or other matter dealing with a subject
took a course in zoology
also : a series of such courses constituting a curriculum
a premed course
b
: a series of doses or medications administered over a designated period
5
a
: a part of a meal served at one time
the main course
b
: layer
especially : a continuous level range of brick or masonry throughout a wall
c
: the lowest sail on a square-rigged mast

course

2 of 2

verb

coursed; coursing

transitive verb

1
: to follow close upon : pursue
2
a
: to hunt or pursue (game) with hounds
b
: to cause (dogs) to run (as after game)
3
: to run or move swiftly through or over : traverse
Jets coursed the area daily.

intransitive verb

: to run or pass rapidly along or as if along an indicated path
blood coursing through the veins
Phrases
in due course
: after a normal passage of time : in the expected or allotted time
His discoveries led in due course to new forms of treatment.
of course
1
: following the ordinary way or procedure
will be done as a matter of course
2
: as might be expected
Of course we will go.

Synonyms

Noun

Verb

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Examples of course in a Sentence

Noun the course of a river The pilot brought the plane back on course. The ship was blown off course by a storm. She's taking a chemistry course this semester. Students earn the degree after a two-year course of study. There is no cure, but the treatment will slow the course of the disease. Verb the blood coursing through my veins Tears were coursing down his cheeks.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
And of course, when he was acquitted of the double murder a year later, there was a deep division among Black Americans, some of whom felt that this was a vindication and that he was framed by police, potentially. —Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024 The entire movie, of course, was a goof, a schizoid cardboard Vaudeville horror burlesque shot in two days and a night by Roger Corman. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024 This has always been true of all watches, of course, so why the need to point it out? —Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 12 Apr. 2024 This week, topics thrown into the flaming quiz pyre include high-energy physics, beloved snacks, music traditions and, of course, viral animals. —Holly J. Morris, NPR, 12 Apr. 2024 But of course that doesn't mean payment will be forthcoming. —CBS News, 12 Apr. 2024 The right response in both cases is, of course, to get over yourself. —Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2024 Not to speak of pollution, deforestation, biodiversity loss, land and labor rights violations, providing breeding grounds for infectious diseases, increasing antimicrobial resistance, and, of course, causing intolerable cruelty to animals. —Monique Mikhail, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024 The lime green dress has an early 2000s feel to it with its slip-style silhouette, high slit, and, of course, bejeweled details. —Jessie Quinn, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024
Verb
But despite the layers of uncertainty coursing through her journal, Shurrab and her diary are resolutely hopeful. —Yasmine Salam, NBC News, 14 Mar. 2024 Charges of antisemitism that have coursed through college campuses since the Oct. 7 attack in Israel by Hamas are also embroiling some K-12 school districts, as the emotional toll and anger surrounding the resulting war continues to tear at communities. —Laura Meckler, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2024 These transactions are the blood vessels coursing through in the veins and arteries of the health system, keeping it alive. —Seth Joseph, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024 Over the past week, Tahoe experienced a series of winter storms as a result of an atmospheric river that coursed through California. —Angela Rodriguez, Sacramento Bee, 5 Feb. 2024 Alpenglow’s group intro courses in mountaineering, avalanche rescue and more start around $275. —Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2024 Unlike, say, fleece jackets, toppers ideal for sitting cozy by a campfire, or heavy-duty parkas, which are better suited for snow storms, hiking jackets are specifically engineered for coursing through winding trails in the cold for hours on end. —Michael Stefanov, Robb Report, 17 Jan. 2024 Super Bowl 54 is fresh enough for a legitimate revenge factor to course throughout the affair, as plenty of the primary figures in that clash are still around for both Kansas City and San Francisco. —Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024 Gregg traces his fixation on the Western Flyer to his childhood growing up in coastal Georgia, where the sky was often coursed by contrails from Cape Canaveral. —Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'course.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English cours, borrowed from Anglo-French cours, curs, going back to Latin cursus "action of running, charge, movement along a path, progress," from currere "to run, flow" + -tus, suffix of verbal action — more at current entry 1

Note: As pointed out by Michiel de Vaan (Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the Other Italic Languages, Leiden, 2008), the expected outcome of the verbal adjective in *-to- and the verbal noun in *-tū- would be *kostus < *korstus < *kr̥s-to-, kr̥s-tū-, from the verbal base *kr̥s- (> currere). The attested form cursus for both the past participle and verbal noun reflects remodeling on the pattern of stems ending in a dental (as morsus from mordere "to bite," versus from vertere "to turn"). As generally in Latin, the verbal noun, where full grade of the root would be expected, has been supplanted by zero grade of the verbal adjective.

Verb

Middle English coursen "to pursue," derivative of cours course entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of course was in the 14th century

Phrases Containing course

Dictionary Entries Near course

couronne

course

coursed ashlar

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Course.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/course. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

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Kids Definition

course

1 of 2 noun
ˈkō(ə)rs How to pronounce course (audio)
ˈkȯ(ə)rs
1
: the act or action of moving in a path from point to point
the planets in their courses
2
: the direction or route of motion or progress
the course of a river
a ship's course
3
: land laid out for golf
4
a
: normal or accustomed process or procedure
the disease ran its course
b
: manner of proceeding : conduct
a wise course
c
: progression through a period of time or a series of acts or events
was built in the course of a year
5
a
: an ordered process or series
b
: a series of classes in a subject
also : a group of such courses
a four-year course in chemistry
6
: a part of a meal served at one time
had salad for the first course
7
: a layer of brick or other building material in a wall

course

2 of 2 verb
coursed; coursing
1
: to run through or over
buffalo coursed the plains
2
: to move rapidly : race
blood coursing through the veins
Etymology

Noun

Middle English cours, course "action of moving in a certain path, path of movement, progress," from early French curs, course (same meaning), derived from Latin currere "to run" — related to corridor, current

Medical Definition

course

noun
ˈkō(ə)rs, ˈkȯ(ə)rs How to pronounce course (audio)
1
: the series of events or stages comprising a natural process
the course of a disease
2
: a series of doses or medications administered over a designated period
a course of three doses daily for five days

More from Merriam-Webster on course

Nglish: Translation of course for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of course for Arabic Speakers

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