lawsuit

The word “lawsuit” means a civil case brought before a court to settle a dispute between parties. In plain terms, a legal case one party brings against another in court.

“Lawsuit” is pronounced LAW-soot (/ˈlɔˌs(j)ut/ in IPA).

Here is “lawsuit” used in a sentence: “The company faced a lawsuit over the defective product.”

“Lawsuit” is a noun.

“Lawsuit” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

A lawsuit is specifically a civil action that one party brings against another to settle a dispute, while case is the broader word for any matter before a court, civil or criminal. Every lawsuit is a case, but a criminal prosecution is a case that is not a lawsuit.

A lawsuit is civil. It is brought by a person, company, or other party to resolve a dispute, typically seeking money or another remedy. Criminal matters are brought by the state and are called prosecutions or criminal cases, not lawsuits.

In legal contexts they mean the same thing: suit is simply the shorter form of lawsuit, as in 'to file suit'. Lawsuit is clearer in general writing because suit also has unrelated meanings, such as a set of clothes.

The standard collocation is to file a lawsuit; you can also bring a lawsuit against someone. 'Make a lawsuit' and 'do a lawsuit' are not natural English. Related patterns include facing a lawsuit, settling a lawsuit, and dropping a lawsuit.