# course

Pronunciation: US say "KORS" /kɔɹs/; UK say "KAWS" /kɔːs/

## Noun

1. The way a sequence of events or steps develops over time, especially the usual or expected way.
   - Simple: The way that events develop or happen over time, one after another.
   - _Historians still debate what altered the course of the revolution._
   - _Her decision shaped the entire course of her career._
3. An organized program of study in a subject, taught over a set period, including a college or university program leading to a qualification.
   - Simple: A set of classes on a subject, or a program at college or university that leads to a qualification.
   - _He enrolled in an online course to learn graphic design._
   - _The library runs a free ten-week course on basic Spanish every spring._
4. An area of land laid out for playing golf, with a series of holes across varied ground.
   - Simple: A large area of land where people play golf, with holes and grass.
   - _The course at Pebble Beach is famous among golfers for its ocean views._
   - _Groundskeepers mow the course's fairways every morning before play begins._
5. The route or direction followed by someone or something, such as a ship, aircraft, ball, or river.
   - Simple: The way or direction that someone or something moves, like a ship, a ball or a river.
   - _The hikers plotted a course through the dense forest._
   - _The herd's migration follows the same course every year._
6. A chosen way of proceeding; a planned manner of doing something.
   - Simple: A planned way of doing something that you decide to follow.
   - _After much debate, the board settled on a cautious course._
   - _Changing course now would mean abandoning months of work._
7. One of the separate parts of a meal, served in sequence.
   - Simple: One part of a meal that is served on its own before the next part.
   - _The main course was roast lamb with vegetables._
   - _Between courses, the waiter cleared our plates and refilled the water._
8. An area or route laid out for a race or other sport, such as a racecourse or an obstacle course.
   - Simple: A path or area marked out for a race or sport.
   - _Organizers shortened the course after the bridge was closed for repairs._
   - _The course climbed steeply for the first three miles of the relay._
9. A planned series of medical treatments given over a set period.
   - Simple: A set of medical treatments given over a period to help someone get better.
   - _She began a six-week course of radiation after the surgery._
   - _Skipping doses can make a course of antibiotics less effective._
10. A continuous horizontal row or layer of bricks, stones, tiles, or other material in a wall or roof.
   - Simple: One row of bricks, stones or roof tiles.
   - _The mason checked that every course was level before continuing._
   - _A damp-proof layer sits between the lower courses of the wall._

## Adverb

2. Clipped form of the phrase 'of course', used in casual speech to mean naturally or certainly, or as a reply meaning yes. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Clipped form of 'of course', used in casual speech to mean 'certainly' or simply 'yes'.
   - _Course she remembered your birthday, she never forgets._
   - _Are you coming with us? Course, just let me grab my coat._

## Verb

11. To flow or move swiftly through or over something, as blood through the veins.
   - Simple: To move fast through something, like blood flowing through the body.
   - _Adrenaline coursed through her veins as the race began._
   - _Floodwaters course over the plain whenever the dam overflows._
12. To chase game, especially hares, with hounds that follow it by sight rather than scent; also, to send hounds after game.
   - Simple: To hunt animals with dogs that chase them by sight, or to send dogs after animals.
   - _On the open plains, the ranchers coursed jackrabbits with their greyhounds._
   - _Trained sighthounds course hares by sight alone._

## Noun

13. The monthly menstrual flow, usually referred to in the plural. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Monthly bleeding from a woman's womb, also called her period.
   - _The physician recorded that the patient's courses were irregular that winter._
   - _She feared something was wrong when her courses failed to appear._

## Other meanings

- (noun) The passing of one person to another in office or duty; the proper order or turn.
- (noun) In weft knitting, a single row of loops connecting the loops of the rows before and after it.
- (noun) One or more strings on instruments such as the guitar, lute, or vihuela, closely spaced when paired and tuned in unison or octaves to sound together.
- (noun) The lowest square sail on a fully rigged mast, usually named after the mast that carries it.
- (noun) The drive or roadway customarily used by Europeans for riding and walking at a station in colonial India.

## Origin

A Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to run" ultimately became Latin currō ("run"), which gave rise to cursus ("course of a race"). This became Old French cours, borrowed into Middle English as cours and inherited by modern English as course.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/course (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).