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case2

Pronunciation: /keɪs/

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Definition of case

noun

1a container designed to hold or protect something:a silver cigarette case
the outer protective covering of a natural or manufactured object:a seed case
an item of luggage; a suitcase.
a box containing twelve bottles of wine or other drink, sold as a unit:a case of champagne

2each of the two forms, capital or minuscule, in which a letter of the alphabet may be written or printed. See also upper case, lower case.
[from the use in printing to mean 'partitioned container for loose metal type']

verb

[with object]

1surround in a material or substance:the towers are of steel cased in granite
enclose in a protective container: (as adjective cased)a cased pair of pistols

2 informal reconnoitre (a place) before carrying out a robbery:I was casing the joint

Origin:

late Middle English: from Old French casse, chasse (modern caisse 'trunk, chest', châsse 'reliquary, frame'), from Latin capsa, related to capere 'to hold'

case in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of case in the US English dictionary

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