an instance of the occurrence, existence, etc., of something

Sailing in such a storm was a case of poor judgment.

the actual state of things

That is not the case.

a question or problem of moral conduct; matter

a case of conscience.

situation; circumstance; plight

Mine is a sad case.

a person or thing whose plight or situation calls for attention

This family is a hardship case.

a specific occurrence or matter requiring discussion, decision, or investigation, as by officials or law-enforcement authorities

The police studied the case of the missing jewels.

a stated argument used to support a viewpoint

He presented a strong case against the proposed law.

an instance of disease, injury, etc., requiring medical or surgical attention or treatment; individual affliction

She had a severe case of chicken pox.

a medical or surgical patient.

Law .

a suit or action at law; cause.

a set of facts giving rise to a legal claim, or to a defense to a legal claim.

Grammar .

a category in the inflection of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives, noting the syntactic relation of these words to other words in the sentence, indicated by the form or the position of the words.

a set of such categories in a particular language.

the meaning of or the meaning typical of such a category.

such categories or their meanings collectively.

Informal . a peculiar or unusual person

He's a case.

get or be on someone's case

Slang . to bother or nag someone; meddle in someone's affairs

Her brother is always on her case about getting married. Why do you keep getting on my case?

get off someone's case

Slang . to stop bothering or criticizing someone or interfering in someone's affairs

I've had enough of your advice, so just get off my case.

have a case on

Slang . to be infatuated with

He had a case on the girl next door.

in any case

regardless of circumstances; be that as it may; anyhow

In any case, there won't be any necessity for you to come along.

in case

if it should happen that; if

In case I am late, don't wait to start dinner.

in case of

in the event of; if there should be

In case of an error in judgment, the group leader will be held responsible.

in no case

under no condition; never

He should in no case be allowed to get up until he has completely recovered from his illness.

noun

bag , baggage , basket , bin , box , cabinet , caddy , caisson , canister , capsule , carton , cartridge , casing , casket , chamber , chassis , chest , coffer , compact , cover , covering , crate , crating , crib , drawer , envelope , folder , grip , holder , integument , jacket , receptacle , safe , scabbard , sheath , shell , suitcase , tray , trunk , wallet , wrapper , wrapping , context , contingency , crisis , dilemma , event , eventuality , fact , incident , occurrence , plight , position , predicament , problem , quandary , situation , state , status , case history , exemplification , illustration , instance , occasion , representative , sample , sampling , specimen , action , argument , cause , claim , dispute , evidence , lawsuit , litigation , petition , proceedings , process , proof , suit , trial , point

verb

canvass , check out , check over , check up , examine , inspect , scrutinize , study , view , check , con , go over , peruse , survey , traverse