case 1 (k?s)n.1. An instance or occurrence of a particular kind or category: a case of mistaken identity. See Synonyms at example.2. An occurrence of a disease or disorder: a mild case of flu.3. A set of circumstances or a state of affairs; a situation: It may rain, in which case the hike will be canceled.4. Actual fact; reality: We suspected the walls were hollow, and this proved to be the case.5. A question or problem; a matter: It is simply a case of honor.6. A situation that requires investigation, especially by a formal or official body.7. Law a. An action or a suit or just grounds for an action.b. The facts or evidence offered in support of a claim.8. A set of reasons or supporting facts; an argument: presented a good case for changing the law.9. A person being assisted, treated, or studied, as by a physician, lawyer, or social worker.10. Informal A peculiar or eccentric person; a character.11. Linguistics a. In traditional grammar, a distinct form of a noun, pronoun, or modifier that is used to express one or more particular syntactic relationships to other words in a sentence.b. Case In some varieties of generative grammar, the thematic or semantic role of a noun phrase as represented abstractly but not necessarily indicated overtly in surface structure. In such frameworks, nouns in English have Case even in the absence of inflectional case endings.Idioms: in any case Regardless of what has occurred or will occur. in case1. If it happens that; if: In case she dies without heirs, her money will go to charity.2. To be prepared for the possibility that: bring the charger in case the battery runs low.3. As a precaution: took along an umbrella, just in case. in case of If there should happen to be: a number to call in case of emergency. off (someone’s) case No longer nagging or urging someone to do something. on (someone’s) case Persistently nagging or urging someone to do something.[Middle English cas, from Old French, from Latin c?sus, from past participle of cadere, to fall; see kad- in Indo-European roots.]case 2 (k?s)n.1. A container; a receptacle: a jewelry case; meat-filled cases of dough.2. A container with its contents.3. A decorative or protective covering or cover.4. A set or pair: a case of pistols.5. The frame or framework of a window, door, or stairway.6. The surface or outer layer of a metal alloy.7. Printing a. A shallow compartmented tray for storing type or type matrices.b. The form of a written, printed, or keyed letter that distinguishes it as being lowercase or uppercase: typed the password using the wrong case.tr.v. cased, cas·ing, cas·es 1. To put into or cover with a case; encase.2. Slang To examine carefully, as in planning a crime: cased the bank before robbing it.[Middle English, from Norman French casse, from Latin capsa.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.case (ke?s) n1. a single instance, occurrence, or example of something2. an instance of disease, injury, hardship, etc3. a question or matter for discussion: the case before the committee. 4. a specific condition or state of affairs; situation5. a set of arguments supporting a particular action, cause, etc6. a. a person attended or served by a doctor, social worker, solicitor, etc; patient or clientb. (as modifier): a case study. 7. (Law) a. an action or suit at law or something that forms sufficient grounds for bringing an action: he has a good case. b. the evidence offered in court to support a claim8. (Grammar) grammar a. a set of grammatical categories of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives, marked by inflection in some languages, indicating the relation of the noun, adjective, or pronoun to other words in the sentenceb. any one of these categories: the nominative case. 9. informal a person in or regarded as being in a specified condition: the accident victim was a hospital case; he’s a mental case. 10. informal a person of a specified character (esp in the phrase a hard case)11. informal an odd person; eccentric12. informal US love or infatuation13. (Firearms, Gunnery, Ordnance & Artillery) short for case shot See canister2b14. as the case may be according to the circumstances15. in any case (adverb) no matter what; anyhow: we will go in any case. 16. in case (adverb) a. in order to allow for eventualitiesb. (as conjunction) in order to allow for the possibility that: take your coat in case it rains. c. US if17. in case of (preposition) in the event of18. in no case (adverb) under no circumstances: in no case should you fight back. [Old English casus (grammatical) case, associated also with Old French cas a happening; both from Latin c?sus, a befalling, occurrence, from cadere to fall]case (ke?s) n1. a. a container, such as a box or chestb. (in combination): suitcase; briefcase. 2. an outer cover or sheath, esp for a watch3. a receptacle and its contents: a case of ammunition. 4. a pair or brace, esp of pistols5. (Architecture) architect another word for casing36. (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) a completed cover ready to be fastened to a book to form its binding7. (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) printing a tray divided into many compartments in which a compositor keeps individual metal types of a particular size and style. Cases were originally used in pairs, one (the upper case) for capitals, the other (the lower case) for small letters. See also upper case, lower case8. (Metallurgy) metallurgy the surface of a piece of steel that has been case-hardenedvb (tr) 9. to put into or cover with a case: to case the machinery. 10. slang to inspect carefully (esp a place to be robbed)[C13: from Old French casse, from Latin capsa, from capere to take, hold]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014case1 (ke?s) n. 1. an instance of the occurrence, existence, etc., of something: a case of poor judgment. 2. the actual state of things: That is not the case. 3. situation; circumstance; plight: a sad case. 4. a patient or client, as of a physician or social worker. 5. a specific occurrence or matter requiring discussion, decision, or investigation. 6. a statement of facts, reasons, etc., used to support an argument. 7. an instance of disease, injury, etc., requiring medical or surgical attention. 8. a. a suit or action at law; cause. b. a set of facts making up a claim or defense. 9. a. a category or set of categories in the inflection of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives indicating the syntactic relation of these words to other words in a sentence. b. the indication of such relations by other devices, as by the position of words in a sentence. 10. Informal. a peculiar or unusual person. Idioms: 1. get off someone’s case, Slang. to stop nagging or criticizing someone. 2. in any case, regardless of circumstances; anyhow. 3. in case, if it should happen that; if. 4. in case of, in the event of; if there should be. 5. on someone’s case, Informal. nagging or criticizing someone [1225?75; You use in case or just in case to say that someone has something or does something because a particular thing might happen.Be Careful!After in case or just in case, you use a simple tense or should. You do not use ‘will’ or ‘shall’.Be Careful!You do not use ‘in case’ or ‘just in case’ to say that something will happen as a result of something else happening. You do not say, for example, ‘I will go in case he asks me’. You say ‘I will go if he asks me’.You say in that case or in which case to refer to a situation which has just been mentioned and to introduce a statement or suggestion that is a consequence of it.You do not use ‘in this case’ to refer to a particular aspect of something. For example, you do not say ‘Most of my friends lost their jobs, but I was very lucky in this case’. You say ‘Most of my friends lost their jobs, but I was very lucky in this respect’.