plaintiff
/ˈpleɪntɪf/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈpleɪntɪf/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈplān-təf/ (ame, mw)
plaintiff — noun
- plaintiffsingular
- plaintiffsplural
1. the side in a civil court case who has started the lawsuit and is asking the cou
the side in a civil court case who has started the lawsuit and is asking the court to decide that another party has wronged them or owes them money.
The plaintiff in the case, a retired teacher named Mrs. Alvarez, asked the court for $50,000 in damages.
the plaintiff in [a case]
Lawyers for the plaintiff argued that the company had ignored safety warnings for years.
lawyers for the plaintiff
The judge ruled in favour of the plaintiff and ordered the landlord to return the deposit.
Marcus served as the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against the bank.
Each plaintiff received a written apology along with a small payment from the hospital.
- claimant
modern British legal term for the same role; replaced 'plaintiff' in English civil courts in 1999.
- complainant
the person who files a complaint; used in some tribunals and in criminal contexts where 'plaintiff' would be wrong.
- petitioner
narrower — someone who formally asks a court for a specific order, often in family or appeal cases.
- defendant
the person being sued or accused; the opposite party in the same case.
- respondent
the party answering an appeal or petition; the opposite of 'petitioner'.
文法句型
the plaintiff in [a case]
plaintiff against [defendant]
用法筆記
Used only in civil cases (suing for money or a court order); the equivalent role in criminal cases is the prosecution, not the plaintiff. In modern British civil courts the official term is 'claimant' (changed in 1999), though 'plaintiff' is still widely understood and used in the United States and in older British texts.