course (kɔːs) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) |
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| —n |
| 1. | a continuous progression from one point to the next in time or space; onward movement: the course of his life |
| 2. | a route or direction followed: they kept on a southerly course |
| 3. | a. the path or channel along which something moves: the course of a river |
| | b. (in combination): a watercourse |
| 4. | an area or stretch of land or water on which a sport is played or a race is run: a golf course |
| 5. | a period of time; duration: in the course of the next hour |
| 6. | the usual order of and time required for a sequence of events; regular procedure: the illness ran its course |
| 7. | a mode of conduct or action: if you follow that course, you will certainly fail |
| 8. | a connected series of events, actions, etc |
| 9. | a. a prescribed number of lessons, lectures, etc, in an educational curriculum |
| | b. the material covered in such a curriculum |
| 10. | a prescribed regimen to be followed for a specific period of time: a course of treatment |
| 11. | a part of a meal served at one time: the fish course |
| 12. | a continuous, usually horizontal, layer of building material, such as a row of bricks, tiles, etc |
| 13. | nautical any of the sails on the lowest yards of a square-rigged ship |
| 14. | knitting Compare wale the horizontal rows of stitches |
| 15. | (in medieval Europe) a charge by knights in a tournament |
| 16. | a. a hunt by hounds relying on sight rather than scent |
| | b. a match in which two greyhounds compete in chasing a hare |
| 17. | the part or function assigned to an individual bell in a set of changes |
| 18. | archaic a running race |
| 19. | as a matter of course as a natural or normal consequence, mode of action, or event |
| 20. | the course of nature the ordinary course of events |
| 21. | in course of in the process of: the ship was in course of construction |
| 22. | in due course at some future time, esp the natural or appropriate time |
| 23. | of course |
| | a. (adverb) as expected; naturally |
| | b. (sentence substitute) certainly; definitely |
| 24. | run its course, take its course (of something) to complete its development or action |
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| —vb |
| 25. | (intr) to run, race, or flow, esp swiftly and without interruption |
| 26. | to cause (hounds) to hunt by sight rather than scent or (of hounds) to hunt (a quarry) thus |
| 27. | (tr) to run through or over; traverse |
| 28. | (intr) to take a direction; proceed on a course |
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| [C13: from Old French cours, from Latin cursus a running, from currere to run] |