pay court to

idiom

formal + old-fashioned

: to give a lot of attention to (someone) in order to get approval, affection, etc.

He does not approve of the young man who has been paying court to his daughter.

Examples of pay court to in a Sentence

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The big picture: Wang is the latest in a string of CEOs from major tech companies to pay court to the new administration. —

Maria Curi, Axios, 4 Feb. 2025

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“Pay court to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pay%20court%20to. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.

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