ENGLISH
REFERENCE

sue

v.
C1 Advanced Oxford US //ˈsu// sue Archaic Informal

v. to take someone to court because they did something wrong or caused you harm. You usually do this to get money for the damage they caused.

v. to institute legal proceedings against a person or institution, typically for financial compensation following a perceived wrong or injury. Transitive — requires a direct object representing the party being sued.


SIMPLE

He decided to sue the company for his injuries.

CONTEXTUAL

After the driver crashed into her fence and refused to pay for repairs, she had no choice but to sue him in small claims court.

COMPLEX

The environmental group threatened to sue the local government if the proposed development plan failed to account for the protection of endangered wetlands and local biodiversity.

Synonyms
Origin

Clipping.

Usage

The verb is transitive and takes a direct object; often used with the preposition 'for' to indicate the reason or the damages sought.

Pitfall

He sued against the companyHe sued the companySue is a transitive verb and takes the person or organization as a direct object without a preposition.

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