plaintiff

plaintiff — noun

1. the side in a civil court case who has started the lawsuit and is asking the cou

1.nounC1
Definition

the side in a civil court case who has started the lawsuit and is asking the court to decide that another party has wronged them or owes them money.

Example

The plaintiff in the case, a retired teacher named Mrs. Alvarez, asked the court for $50,000 in damages.

the plaintiff in [a case]

Lawyers for the plaintiff argued that the company had ignored safety warnings for years.

lawyers for the plaintiff

Common collocations
  • the plaintiff alleges/claims/argues
  • lead plaintiff
  • named plaintiff
  • rule in favour of the plaintiff
  • the plaintiff's lawyer/attorney/case
  • plaintiff's evidence
Synonyms
  • claimant

    modern British legal term for the same role; replaced 'plaintiff' in English civil courts in 1999.

  • complainant

    the person who files a complaint; used in some tribunals and in criminal contexts where 'plaintiff' would be wrong.

  • petitioner

    narrower — someone who formally asks a court for a specific order, often in family or appeal cases.

Antonyms
  • defendant

    the person being sued or accused; the opposite party in the same case.

  • respondent

    the party answering an appeal or petition; the opposite of 'petitioner'.

Grammar Patterns

the plaintiff in [a case]

plaintiff against [defendant]

Usage Note

Used only in civil cases (suing for money or a court order); the equivalent role in criminal cases is the prosecution, not the plaintiff. In modern British civil courts the official term is 'claimant' (changed in 1999), though 'plaintiff' is still widely understood and used in the United States and in older British texts.

Common Mistakes

The plaintiff charged the man with murder.
The prosecutor charged the man with murder.
'plaintiff' is for civil suits; criminal cases have a 'prosecutor' or 'prosecution', not a plaintiff.
She was the plaintiff of the company.
She was the plaintiff in the lawsuit against the company.
the plaintiff stands 'in' a case or lawsuit, not 'of' an organisation.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words name a person who turns to the legal system for help, but each fits a different setting. 'Plaintiff' is the standard word in American civil courts and is still common in everyday English worldwide for the side suing in a lawsuit, especially over money. 'Claimant' is the official word in English and Welsh civil courts since the 1999 reform; British lawyers use it where Americans say 'plaintiff'. 'Complainant' is broader: it covers the person who files a formal complaint with a tribunal, a regulator, or the police, and is the usual word for the victim in a criminal case. 'Petitioner' is narrower again — it names the person who formally asks a court for a particular order, as in a divorce petition or an appeal. Compare: 'The plaintiff sued for damages,' 'The complainant told the police she had been threatened,' and 'The petitioner asked the court to overturn the ruling.'

plaintiff ↗claimant ↗complainant ↗petitioner

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchAnglo-FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Came into English in the late 1300s from Anglo-French 'plaintif', meaning 'complaining' or 'one who complains'. The same Old French word also gave English the adjective 'plaintive', meaning sad-sounding. Both trace back to Latin 'plangere', 'to strike one's chest in grief, to lament'. By the 1400s English law had narrowed 'plaintiff' to its modern legal sense — the party bringing a civil suit — while 'plaintive' kept the older emotional meaning.