Library / English Dictionary

COURSE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A mode of action

Example:

once a nation is embarked on a course of action it becomes extremely difficult for any retraction to take place

Synonyms:

course; course of action

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("course" is a kind of...):

action (something done (usually as opposed to something said))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "course"):

blind alley ((figurative) a course of action that is unproductive and offers no hope of improvement)

collision course (a course of action (following a given idea) that will lead to conflict if it continues unabated)

path; way; way of life (a course of conduct)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings

Example:

flirting is not unknown in college classes

Synonyms:

class; course; course of instruction; course of study

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("course" is a kind of...):

didactics; education; educational activity; instruction; pedagogy; teaching (the activities of educating or instructing; activities that impart knowledge or skill)

Meronyms (parts of "course"):

class period; course session; recitation (a regularly scheduled session as part of a course of study)

lecture; lecturing (teaching by giving a discourse on some subject (typically to a class))

coursework (work assigned to and done by a student during a course of study; usually it is evaluated as part of the student's grade in the course)

lesson (a unit of instruction)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "course"):

workshop (a brief intensive course for a small group; emphasizes problem solving)

shop; shop class (a course of instruction in a trade (as carpentry or electricity))

seminar (a course offered for a small group of advanced students)

required course (a course that all students are required to take)

refresher; refresher course (a course that reviews and updates a topic for those who have not kept abreast of developments)

propaedeutic; propaedeutics (a course that provides an introduction to an art or science (or to more advanced study generally))

orientation; orientation course (a course introducing a new situation or environment)

industrial arts (a course in the methods of using tools and machinery as taught in secondary schools and technical schools)

home study (a course of study carried out at home rather than in a classroom)

extension course (a course offered as part of an extension service)

elective; elective course (a course that the student can select from among alternatives)

directed study (a course of study that is supervised and controlled by a specialist in the subject)

course of lectures (a series of lectures dealing with a subject)

correspondence course (a course offered (by mail) by a correspondence school)

childbirth-preparation class (a course that teaches pregnant women to use breathing and concentration and exercise techniques to use during labor)

art class (a class in which you learn to draw or paint)

adult education (a course (via lectures or correspondence) for adults who are not otherwise engaged in formal study)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Facility consisting of a circumscribed area of land or water laid out for a sport

Example:

the course was less than a mile

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("course" is a kind of...):

facility; installation (a building or place that provides a particular service or is used for a particular industry)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "course"):

golf course; links course (course consisting of a large landscaped area for playing golf)

racecourse; racetrack; raceway; track (a course over which races are run)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(construction) a layer of masonry

Example:

a course of bricks

Synonyms:

course; row

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("course" is a kind of...):

bed; layer (single thickness of usually some homogeneous substance)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "course"):

damp-proof course; damp course (a course of some impermeable material laid in the foundation walls of building near the ground to prevent dampness from rising into the building)

row of bricks (a course of bricks place next to each other (usually in a straight line))

Holonyms ("course" is a part of...):

wall (an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Part of a meal served at one time

Example:

she prepared a three course meal

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("course" is a kind of...):

aliment; alimentation; nourishment; nutriment; nutrition; sustenance; victuals (a source of materials to nourish the body)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "course"):

afters; dessert; sweet (a dish served as the last course of a meal)

appetiser; appetizer; starter (food or drink to stimulate the appetite (usually served before a meal or as the first course))

entree; main course (the principal dish of a meal)

Holonyms ("course" is a part of...):

meal; repast (the food served and eaten at one time)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A body of students who are taught together

Example:

early morning classes are always sleepy

Synonyms:

class; course; form; grade

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("course" is a kind of...):

assemblage; gathering (a group of persons together in one place)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "course"):

master class (a class (especially in music) given to talented students by an expert)

discussion section; section (a small class of students who are part of a larger course but are taught separately)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A connected series of events or actions or developments

Example:

historians can only point out those lines for which evidence is available

Synonyms:

course; line

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("course" is a kind of...):

series (similar things placed in order or happening one after another)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "course"):

current; flow; stream (dominant course (suggestive of running water) of successive events or ideas)

Sense 8

Meaning:

General line of orientation

Example:

the northeastern trend of the coast

Synonyms:

course; trend

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Hypernyms ("course" is a kind of...):

direction; way (a line leading to a place or point)

Derivation:

course (move along, of liquids)

Sense 9

Meaning:

A line or route along which something travels or moves

Example:

the course of the river

Synonyms:

course; path; track

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("course" is a kind of...):

line (a spatial location defined by a real or imaginary unidimensional extent)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "course"):

trail (a track or mark left by something that has passed)

belt; swath (a path or strip (as cut by one course of mowing))

steps (the course along which a person has walked or is walking in)

round (the course along which communications spread)

inside track (the inner side of a curved racecourse)

collision course (a course of a moving object that will lead to a collision if it continues unchanged)

Derivation:

course (move swiftly through or over)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Hunt with hounds

Example:

He often courses hares

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "course" is one way to...):

hunt; hunt down; run; track down (pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals))

Domain category:

game (a contest with rules to determine a winner)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

coursing (hunting with dogs (usually greyhounds) that are trained to chase game (such as hares) by sight instead of by scent)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Move along, of liquids

Example:

the Missouri feeds into the Mississippi

Synonyms:

course; feed; flow; run

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "course" is one way to...):

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "course"):

gutter (flow in small streams)

ooze; seep (pass gradually or leak through or as if through small openings)

drain; run out (flow off gradually)

dribble; filter; trickle (run or flow slowly, as in drops or in an unsteady stream)

stream; well out (flow freely and abundantly)

run out; spill (flow, run or fall out and become lost)

pour (flow in a spurt)

run down (move downward)

run off; waste (run off as waste)

eddy; purl; swirl; whirl; whirlpool (flow in a circular current, of liquids)

circulate (move through a space, circuit or system, returning to the starting point)

surge; tide (rise or move forward)

gush; jet (issue in a jet; come out in a jet; stream or spring forth)

flush (flow freely)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

course (general line of orientation)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Move swiftly through or over

Example:

ships coursing the Atlantic

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "course" is one way to...):

cover; cross; cut across; cut through; get across; get over; pass over; track; traverse (travel across or pass over)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

course (a line or route along which something travels or moves)

 III. (adverb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

As might be expected

Example:

naturally, the lawyer sent us a huge bill

Synonyms:

course; naturally; of course

Classified under:

Adverbs

Credits

 Context examples: 

It has a slow and progressive clinical course and is characterized by developmental delay, macrocephaly, seizures, dementia and spasticity.

(Alexander Disease, NCI Thesaurus)

There is, of course, the other woman, the drink, the push, the blow, the bruise, the sympathetic sister or landlady.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This type of AML usually follows an aggressive clinical course.

(Acute Myeloid Leukemia without Maturation, NCI Thesaurus/WHO)

It has an indolent clinical course and may be associated with skin plaques.

(Acquired Progressive Lymphangioma, NCI Thesaurus)

It usually follows an aggressive clinical course.

(Acute Monoblastic and Monocytic Leukemia, NCI Thesaurus)

The clinical course is aggressive, with local recurrences and distant metastases.

(Adult Mesenchymal Chondrosarcoma, NCI Thesaurus)

They gnawed and gnawed until he could not keep his mind steady on the course he must pursue to gain the land of little sticks.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

The clinical course varies and is, in part, dependent upon the severity of symptoms at presentation.

(Alcohol-Induced Wernicke-Korsakoff's Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

A non-Hodgkin lymphoma with an aggressive clinical course.

(Aggressive Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, NCI Thesaurus)

The vast majority of cases present as stage I tumors; however, all tumors have a potential for aggressive clinical course.

(Adult Type Granulosa Cell Tumor, NCI Thesaurus)