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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
As the race for the White House remains a toss up, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have ramped up their courtship of a crucial voting bloc: young voters A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll found Harris leading Trump by 14 points among voters under 30 years old. Emily Chang, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2024 One of the hallmarks of Harris’s campaign has been her courtship of corporate leaders. Owen Tedford, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024 Joy-Anna and Austin got married in May 2017 after getting engaged just a few months after announcing their courtship on the special episode of Counting On: Jinger’s Wedding in November 2016. Esther Kang, People.com, 18 Oct. 2024 The cumulative effect on young people of this mix of brutal repression and aggressive courtship is, for the moment at least, silence: among Russia’s youth today, there are few signs of any meaningful currents of resistance. Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for courtship 

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 21 Nov. 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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