sue

CEFRB1

/sjuː/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To take legal action against someone in court.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    To clean (the beak, etc.).

Examples

  • If Sue is coming by air, she ought to arrive very soon.

  • They threatened to sue if the work was not completed.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
3
Synonyms
1

Also pronounced

  • /sɪu̯/
  • /suː/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To seek by request; to make application; to petition; to entreat; to plead.

  2. To file a legal action against someone, generally a non-criminal (civil) action.

  3. To leave high and dry on shore.

More examples

In context

  • Tom and Sue love each other.

  • I plan to sue you for everything you have.

  • The king of Bimsa sued for peace after Nynal's armies overran his territory; he knew any further resistance would only harm the common people.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

After months of unpaid wages, the worker decided to blank the company for not paying her.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English seuen, sewen, siwen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman suer, siwer et al. and Old French sivre (“to follow after”) (modern French suivre), from Vulgar Latin *sequere (“to follow”), from Latin sequi. Cognate with Italian seguire and Spanish seguir. Doublet of segue. Related to suit.