courtship
noun
court·ship
| \ ˈkȯrt-ˌship
\
\
Definition of courtship
: the act, process, or period of courting
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Examples of courtship in a Sentence
They had a two-year courtship before marrying.
The male of the species often displays aggression during courtship.
the President's courtship of middle-class voters
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Recent Examples on the Web
Like the beginning of their courtship, getting to the proposal proved complicated. — New York Times, "Falling Into Each Other’s Arms, a Step at a Time," 23 Aug. 2019 After a three-year courtship, they got married on a yacht in the Aegean Sea. — Kevin Cullen, BostonGlobe.com, "Courtney Kennedy and Paul Hill’s enduring agony," 3 Aug. 2019 After a brief courtship and period of separation, the couple married in 1942 and would go on to raise a family and continue to be prominent figures of Hollywood’s Golden Age until Riskin’s death in 1955 following a stroke. — Sara Cardine, La Cañada Valley Sun, "Fay Wray, Robert Riskin memoir penned by daughter is One City, One Book pick," 24 July 2019 Back in November of last year, after a 14-month long courtship, the e-commerce giant Amazon had declared its love for Long Island City. — Rani Molla, Vox, "Amazon’s former HQ2 location is doing just fine without Amazon," 2 July 2019 Jean married Robert Malcolm Crum of New Britain, Connecticut in May of 1949 after a whirlwind post-war courtship. — courant.com, "Jean M. Crum," 20 June 2019 If courtship is successful, the male fuses permanently to the female, and their tissues and circulatory systems commingle. — William J. Broad, New York Times, "The Creepy Anglerfish Comes to Light. (Just Don’t Get Too Close.)," 29 July 2019 Only males call during courtship: the first part of the call establishes territory; the second syllable is meant to attract a mate. — Suzanne Roberts, Longreads, "The Offer of a Two-Night Stand, When Just One Would Do," 15 July 2019 The details of Orpheus and Eurydice’s courtship aren’t as important as the universal rhythms of their attachment. — Charles Mcnulty, latimes.com, "Why ‘Hadestown’ deserves the Tony Award for best musical of the year," 3 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'courtship.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for courtship
courtship
noun
English Language Learners Definition of courtship
somewhat old-fashioned
: the activities that occur when people are developing a romantic relationship that could lead to marriage or the period of time when such activities occur
: the behavior of animals that leads to sexual activity or the period of time when such behavior occurs
: an attempt to convince someone to support you or to choose you or your organization
See the full definition for courtship in the English Language Learners Dictionary
courtship
noun
court·ship
| \ ˈkȯrt-ˌship
\
\
Kids Definition of courtship
: the act of seeking the love or companionship of someone
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