Definition of "course"

course¹

/kɔːs/

noun
plural courses
1. A sequence of events.
  1. A normal or customary sequence.
    Quotations
    The course of true love never did run smooth.
    c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act I, scene i]
    Day and night, / Seedtime and harvest, heat and hoary frost, / Shall hold their course.
    1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […]; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873,
  2. A programme, a chosen manner of proceeding.
  3. Any ordered process or sequence of steps.
  4. (UK) a major area of study.
    Quotations
    During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant […]
    1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond‎
    Her course will be ‘Communication Studies with Theatre Studies’: God, how tedious, how pointless.
    1992 August 21, Edwina Currie, Diary
    Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete.
    2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845
  5. (especially in medicine) A treatment plan.
    Quotations
    Miss Clark, alarmed at her increasing stoutness, was doing a course of what is popularly known as banting.
    1932, Agatha Christie, The Thirteen Problems
  6. A stage of a meal.
  7. The succession of one to another in office or duty; order; turn.
    Quotations
    He appointed […] the courses of the priests.
    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], 2 Chronicles 8:14
2. A path that something or someone moves along.
  1. The itinerary of a race.
  2. A racecourse.
  3. The path taken by a flow of water; a watercourse.
  4. (sports) The trajectory of a ball, frisbee etc.
  5. (golf) A golf course.
  6. (nautical) The direction of movement of a vessel at any given moment.
  7. (navigation) The intended passage of voyage, such as a boat, ship, airplane, spaceship, etc.
  8. (India, historical) The drive usually frequented by Europeans at an Indian station.
    Quotations
    It was curious to Oakfield to be back on the Ferozepore course, after a six months' interval, which seemed like years. How much had happened in these six months!
    1853, William Delafield Arnold, Oakfield; or, Fellowship in the East, section II, page 124
3. (nautical) The lowest square sail in a fully rigged mast, often named according to the mast.
4. (in the plural, courses, obsolete, euphemistic) Menses.
  Quotations
  The bleeding body signifies as a shameful token of uncontrol, as a failure of physical self-mastery particularly associated with woman in her monthly "courses".
  2018, Gail Kern Paster, The Body Embarrassed‎, Cornell University, page 92
5. A row or file of objects.
  1. (masonry) A row of bricks or blocks.
  2. (roofing) A row of material that forms the roofing, waterproofing or flashing system.
  3. (textiles) In weft knitting, a single row of loops connecting the loops of the preceding and following rows.
6. (music) One or more strings on some musical instruments (such as the guitar, lute or vihuela): if multiple, then closely spaced, tuned in unison or octaves and intended to be played together.
verb
third-person singular simple present courses, present participle coursing, simple past and past participle coursed
1. To run or flow (especially of liquids and more particularly blood).
  Quotations
  Sudden anger rose in him. “What I’m looking for,” he barked, “is to be left in peace.” His voice trembled with a rage far bigger than her intrusion merited, the rage which shocked him whenever it coursed through his nervous system, like a flood.
  2001, Salman Rushdie, Fury: A Novel, London: Jonathan Cape, page 5
  He is a South American, so perhaps revolutionary spirit courses through Francis's veins. But what, pray, does the Catholic church want with doubt?
  2013 September 20, Martina Hyde, “Is the pope Catholic?”, in The Guardian
2. (transitive) To run through or over.
3. (transitive) To pursue by tracking or estimating the course taken by one's prey; to follow or chase after.
  Quotations
  We coursed him at the heels.
  c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act I, scene vi]
4. (transitive) To cause to chase after or pursue game.

course²

/kɔːs/

adverb
not comparable
1. (colloquial) Ellipsis of of course.
  Quotations
  "Course it's mighty hard to tell till we've put out a few traps," said the former, "but it looks to me like we've struck it lucky."
  1922, A. M. Chisholm, A Thousand a Plate
  Course, my home wasn't exactly in Harlem […]
  1946, Mezz Mezzrow, Bernard Wolfe, Really the Blues, New York: Random House, page 209

Definition of "course"

course1

noun

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verb

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course2

adverb

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course¹

course²