course

noun

1. A sequence of events.

   “The normal course of events seems to be just one damned thing after another.”

   “Tilehurst would in the ordinary course have caught him up and they would have progressed companionably wheel by wheel for as far as their way lay together, discussing the simpler aspects of Tapsfield existence.”

2. A sequence of events.

   “The course of true love never did run smooth.”

   “Day and night, / Seedtime and harvest, heat and hoary frost, / Shall hold their course.”

3. A sequence of events.
4. A sequence of events.

   “There is but one course for me to follow: I'LL MOIDER THE BUM!”

5. A sequence of events.

   “Her course will be ‘Communication Studies with Theatre Studies’: God, how tedious, how pointless.”

   “Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete.”

6. A sequence of events.

   “I need to take a French course.”

7. (Ireland, Philippines, UK)A sequence of events.

   “What's your course in university? —Business studies. And you?”

   “During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant[…]”

8. (especially)A sequence of events.

   “Miss Clark, alarmed at her increasing stoutness, was doing a course of what is popularly known as banting.”

9. A sequence of events.

   “We offer seafood as the first course.”

10. A sequence of events.

    “He appointed […] the courses of the priests.”

11. A path that something or someone moves along.

    “His illness ran its course.”

12. A path that something or someone moves along.

    “The cross-country course passes the canal.”

13. A path that something or someone moves along.
14. A path that something or someone moves along.
15. A path that something or someone moves along.
16. A path that something or someone moves along.
17. A path that something or someone moves along.

    “The ship changed its course 15 degrees towards south.”

18. A path that something or someone moves along.

    “A course was plotted to traverse the ocean.”

19. (India, historical)A path that something or someone moves along.

    “It was curious to Oakfield to be back on the Ferozepore course, after a six months' interval, which seemed like years. How much had happened in these six months!”

20. The lowest square sail in a fully rigged mast, often named according to the mast.

    “Main course and mainsail are the same thing in a sailing ship.”

21. (euphemistic, in-plural, obsolete)Menses.

    “The bleeding body signifies as a shameful token of uncontrol, as a failure of physical self-mastery particularly associated with woman in her monthly "courses".”

22. A row or file of objects.

    “On a building that size, two crews could only lay two courses in a day.”

23. A row or file of objects.
24. A row or file of objects.
25. One or more strings on some musical instruments (such as the guitar, lute or vihuela): if multiple, then closely spaced, tuned in unison or octaves and intended to be played together.

verb

1. To run or flow (especially of liquids and more particularly blood).

   “The oil coursed through the engine.”

   “Blood pumped around the human body courses throughout all its veins and arteries.”

   “Sudden anger rose in him. “What I’m looking for,” he barked, “is to be left in peace.” His voice trembled with a rage far bigger than her intrusion merited, the rage which shocked him whenever it coursed through his nervous system, like a flood.”

   “He is a South American, so perhaps revolutionary spirit courses through Francis's veins. But what, pray, does the Catholic church want with doubt?”

2. (transitive)To run through or over.
3. (transitive)To pursue by tracking or estimating the course taken by one's prey; to follow or chase after.

   “We coursed him at the heels.”

4. (transitive)To cause to chase after or pursue game.

   “to course greyhounds after deer”

adv

1. (abbreviation, alt-of, colloquial, ellipsis, not-comparable)Ellipsis of of course.

   “"Course it's mighty hard to tell till we've put out a few traps," said the former, "but it looks to me like we've struck it lucky."”

   “Course, my home wasn't exactly in Harlem […]”