From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
case
n 1: an occurrence of something; "it was a case of bad
judgment"; "another instance occurred yesterday"; "but
there is always the famous example of the Smiths" [syn:
case, instance, example]
2: a special set of circumstances; "in that event, the first
possibility is excluded"; "it may rain in which case the
picnic will be canceled" [syn: event, case]
3: a comprehensive term for any proceeding in a court of law
whereby an individual seeks a legal remedy; "the family
brought suit against the landlord" [syn: lawsuit, suit,
case, cause, causa]
4: the actual state of things; "that was not the case"
5: a portable container for carrying several objects; "the
musicians left their instrument cases backstage"
6: a person requiring professional services; "a typical case was
the suburban housewife described by a marriage counselor"
7: a person who is subjected to experimental or other
observational procedures; someone who is an object of
investigation; "the subjects for this investigation were
selected randomly"; "the cases that we studied were drawn
from two different communities" [syn: subject, case,
guinea pig]
8: a problem requiring investigation; "Perry Mason solved the
case of the missing heir"
9: a statement of facts and reasons used to support an argument;
"he stated his case clearly"
10: the quantity contained in a case [syn: case, caseful]
11: nouns or pronouns or adjectives (often marked by inflection)
related in some way to other words in a sentence [syn:
case, grammatical case]
12: a specific state of mind that is temporary; "a case of the
jitters"
13: a person of a specified kind (usually with many
eccentricities); "a real character"; "a strange character";
"a friendly eccentric"; "the capable type"; "a mental case"
[syn: character, eccentric, type, case]
14: a specific size and style of type within a type family [syn:
font, fount, typeface, face, case]
15: an enveloping structure or covering enclosing an animal or
plant organ or part [syn: sheath, case]
16: the housing or outer covering of something; "the clock has a
walnut case" [syn: shell, case, casing]
17: the enclosing frame around a door or window opening; "the
casings had rotted away and had to be replaced" [syn:
casing, case]
18: (printing) the receptacle in which a compositor has his
type, which is divided into compartments for the different
letters, spaces, or numbers; "for English, a compositor will
ordinarily have two such cases, the upper case containing
the capitals and the lower case containing the small
letters" [syn: case, compositor's case, typesetter's
case]
19: bed linen consisting of a cover for a pillow; "the burglar
carried his loot in a pillowcase" [syn: case,
pillowcase, slip, pillow slip]
20: a glass container used to store and display items in a shop
or museum or home [syn: case, display case, showcase,
vitrine]
v 1: look over, usually with the intention to rob; "They men
cased the housed"
2: enclose in, or as if in, a case; "my feet were encased in
mud" [syn: encase, incase, case]