course - Definition | Dictionary definition of course

Definition of course

Nouns

education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings

"he took a course in basket weaving"

Synonyms:: class, course of instruction, course of study

Types:: show 18 types...; hide 18 types...; adult education
a course (via lectures or correspondence) for adults who are not otherwise engaged in formal study; art class
a class in which you learn to draw or paint; life class
an art class using a live human model; childbirth-preparation class
a course that teaches pregnant women to use breathing and concentration and exercise techniques to use during labor; correspondence course
a course offered (by mail) by a correspondence school; course of lectures
a series of lectures dealing with a subject; directed study
a course of study that is supervised and controlled by a specialist in the subject; elective, elective course
a course that the student can select from among alternatives; extension course
a course offered as part of an extension service; home study
a course of study carried out at home rather than in a classroom; industrial arts
a course in the methods of using tools and machinery as taught in secondary schools and technical schools; orientation, orientation course
a course introducing a new situation or environment; propaedeutic, propaedeutics
a course that provides an introduction to an art or science (or to more advanced study generally); refresher, refresher course
a course that reviews and updates a topic for those who have not kept abreast of developments; required course
a course that all students are required to take; seminar
a course offered for a small group of advanced students; shop, shop class
a course of instruction in a trade (as carpentry or electricity); workshop
a brief intensive course for a small group; emphasizes problem solving

Type of:: didactics, education, educational activity, instruction, pedagogy, teaching
the activities of educating or instructing; activities that impart knowledge or skill

a connected series of events or actions or developments

"the government took a firm course"

Synonyms:: line

Types:: current, flow, stream
dominant course (suggestive of running water) of successive events or ideas

Type of:: series
similar things placed in order or happening one after another

general line of orientation

"the river takes a southern course"

Synonyms:: trend

Type of:: direction, way
a line leading to a place or point

a mode of action

"if you persist in that course you will surely fail"

"once a nation is embarked on a course of action it becomes extremely difficult for any retraction to take place"

Synonyms:: course of action

Types:: show 8 types...; hide 8 types...; blind alley
(figurative) a course of action that is unproductive and offers no hope of improvement; collision course
a course of action (following a given idea) that will lead to conflict if it continues unabated; path, way, way of life
a course of conduct; ambages
(archaic) roundabout or mysterious ways of action; primrose path
a life of ease and pleasure; straight and narrow, strait and narrow
the way of proper and honest behavior; Sunna, Sunnah, hadith
(Islam) the way of life prescribed as normative for Muslims on the basis of the teachings and practices of Muhammad and interpretations of the Koran; warpath
a course leading to warfare or battle

Type of:: action
something done (usually as opposed to something said)

a line or route along which something travels or moves

"the course of the river"

Synonyms:: path, track

Types:: show 8 types...; hide 8 types...; collision course
a course of a moving object that will lead to a collision if it continues unchanged; inside track
the inner side of a curved racecourse; round
the course along which communications spread; steps
the course along which a person has walked or is walking in; belt, swath
a path or strip (as cut by one course of mowing); trail
a track or mark left by something that has passed; slot
the trail of an animal (especially a deer); spoor
the trail left by a person or an animal; what the hunter follows in pursuing game

Type of:: line
a spatial location defined by a real or imaginary unidimensional extent

a body of students who are taught together

Synonyms:: class, form, grade

Types:: master class
a class (especially in music) given to talented students by an expert; discussion section, section
a small class of students who are part of a larger course but are taught separately

Type of:: assemblage, gathering
a group of persons together in one place

part of a meal served at one time

"she prepared a three course meal"

Types:: show 28 types...; hide 28 types...; entree, main course
the principal dish of a meal; plate
a main course served on a plate; appetiser, appetizer, starter
food or drink to stimulate the appetite (usually served before a meal or as the first course); antipasto
a course of appetizers in an Italian meal; canape
an appetizer consisting usually of a thin slice of bread or toast spread with caviar or cheese or other savory food; cocktail
an appetizer served as a first course at a meal; hors d'oeuvre
a dish served as an appetizer before the main meal; crudites
raw vegetables cut into bite-sized strips and served with a dip; afters, dessert, sweet
a dish served as the last course of a meal; ambrosia
fruit dessert made of oranges and bananas with shredded coconut; baked Alaska
cake covered with ice cream and meringue browned quickly in an oven; blancmange
sweet almond-flavored milk pudding thickened with gelatin or cornstarch; usually molded; charlotte
a mold lined with cake or crumbs and filled with fruit or whipped cream or custard; compote, fruit compote
dessert of stewed or baked fruit; dumpling
dessert made by baking fruit wrapped in pastry; flan
open pastry filled with fruit or custard; frozen dessert
any of various desserts prepared by freezing; junket
dessert made of sweetened milk coagulated with rennet; mousse
a rich, frothy, creamy dessert made with whipped egg whites and heavy cream; pavlova
a dessert consisting of a meringue base or cup filled with fruit and whipped cream; peach melba
ice cream and peaches with a liqueur; whip
a dessert made of sugar and stiffly beaten egg whites or cream and usually flavored with fruit; pudding
any of various soft sweet desserts thickened usually with flour and baked or boiled or steamed; pud, pudding
(British) the dessert course of a meal (`pud' is used informally); sillabub, syllabub
sweetened cream beaten with wine or liquor; tiramisu
an Italian dessert consisting of layers of sponge cake soaked with coffee and brandy or liqueur layered with mascarpone cheese and topped with grated chocolate; sabayon, zabaglione
light foamy custard-like dessert served hot or chilled; mold, mould
a dish or dessert that is formed in or on a mold

Type of:: aliment, alimentation, nourishment, nutriment, nutrition, sustenance, victuals
a source of materials to nourish the body

(construction) a layer of masonry

"a course of bricks"

Synonyms:: row

Types:: damp course, damp-proof course
a course of some impermeable material laid in the foundation walls of building near the ground to prevent dampness from rising into the building; row of bricks
a course of bricks place next to each other (usually in a straight line)

Type of:: bed, layer
single thickness of usually some homogeneous substance

facility consisting of a circumscribed area of land or water laid out for a sport

"the course had only nine holes"

"the course was less than a mile"

Examples:: Belmont Park
a racetrack for thoroughbred racing in Elmont on Long Island; site of the Belmont Stakes; Churchill Downs
a racetrack for thoroughbred racing in Louisville; site of the Kentucky Derby; Pimlico
a racetrack for thoroughbred racing; site of the Preakness

Types:: show 8 types...; hide 8 types...; golf course, links course
course consisting of a large landscaped area for playing golf; golf links, links
a golf course that is built on sandy ground near a shore; racecourse, racetrack, raceway, track
a course over which races are run; cinder track
a racetrack paved with fine cinders; dirt track
a racetrack that is not paved; circuit, racing circuit
a racetrack for automobile races; speedway
a racetrack for racing automobiles or motorcycles; velodrome
a banked oval track for bicycle or motorcycle racing

Type of:: facility, installation
a building or place that provides a particular service or is used for a particular industry

Verbs

move swiftly through or over

Type of:: cover, cross, cut across, cut through, get across, get over, pass over, track, traverse
travel across or pass over

move along, of liquids

Synonyms:: feed, flow, run

Types:: show 21 types...; hide 21 types...; flush
flow freely; flush down, wash down
flow freely; gush, jet
issue in a jet; come out in a jet; stream or spring forth; surge, tide
rise or move forward; circulate
move through a space, circuit or system, returning to the starting point; ventilate
circulate through and freshen; eddy, purl, swirl, whirl, whirlpool
flow in a circular current, of liquids; run off, waste
run off as waste; run down
move downward; pour
flow in a spurt; gush, spirt, spout, spurt
gush forth in a sudden stream or jet; regurgitate
pour or rush back; run out, spill
flow, run or fall out and become lost; brim over, overflow, overrun, run over, well over
flow or run over (a limit or brim); stream, well out
flow freely and abundantly; spin
stream in jets, of liquids; dribble, filter, trickle
run or flow slowly, as in drops or in an unsteady stream; leach, percolate
permeate or penetrate gradually; drain, run out
flow off gradually; ooze, seep
pass gradually or leak through or as if through small openings; gutter
flow in small streams