courtship

noun

court·​ship ˈkȯrt-ˌship How to pronounce courtship (audio)
: the act, process, or period of courting

Examples of courtship in a Sentence

They had a two-year courtship before marrying. The male of the species often displays aggression during courtship. the President's courtship of middle-class voters
Recent Examples on the Web The Harris team is being strategic about its courtship of labor. Daniel Klaidman, CBS News, 26 Aug. 2024 Structuring your content, follow-up and calls to action should be akin to a good old-fashioned courtship. Jimi Gibson, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2024 The lawsuit details Microsoft’s early courtship of OpenAI while Musk was still with the company. Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Aug. 2024 Andrea Whittle and Ben Cutler’s courtship started as a summer fling. Alexandra MacOn, Vogue, 27 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for courtship 

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

Word History

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of courtship was in 1596

Dictionary Entries Near courtship

Cite this Entry

“Courtship.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/courtship. Accessed 12 Sep. 2024.

Kids Definition

courtship

noun
court·​ship -ˌship How to pronounce courtship (audio)
: the act or process of courting

More from Merriam-Webster on courtship

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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