cased

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of case.

   The jeweler cased each ring in a velvet box before the show.

   Detectives believe the gang cased several stores last month.

   Note

   One spelling does both jobs: the simple past (they cased the shop) and the participle after have or be (the goods were cased for shipment). Most of the verb's meanings take an object: goods boxed for shipping, something enclosed for protection, or, informally, a building watched before a robbery. The one meaning that took no object, proposing hypothetical cases, is obsolete, so an object is now expected.

2. 2
   adjective

   Enclosed in or covered by a case or protective outer layer.

   The cased pistols were displayed in the collector's cabinet.

   A cased steel beam ran along the ceiling of the workshop.

   Similarencased, enclosed, boxed

   Note

   Grammatically it sits right beside the past participle: a cased pistol is simply one that has been cased. As an adjective it does not grade, so nothing is more cased or very cased. It covers both a removable box and a permanent outer layer, the sense of clad, so a cased beam may be sheathed rather than boxed.

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