n. 1
An actual event, situation, or fact.
For a change, in this case, he was telling the truth.
n. 2
A specific matter or piece of work, specifically defined within a profession, usually in respect of a specific person and/or event; the set of tasks involved in addressing one such matter.
It was one of the detective's easiest cases.
n. 3
An instance or event as a topic of study.
The teaching consists of theory lessons and case studies.
v. 1
To place (an item or items of manufacture) into a box, as in preparation for shipment.

Related words

Word family: caseless case-to-case casework caseworker
Phrases: hard case case in point nut case case law display case objective case nominative case genitive case

Forms

Plural: cases → faces, fonts, founts, lawsuits…
Past participle: cased
e.g. cased → incased, sheathed…

Choose the right word

Case, Precedent, Example, Instance or Obiter Dictum?

A precedent is an authoritative case, example, or instance. An obiter dictum is an opinion outside of the case in hand, which can not be quoted as an authoritative precedent.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

fount Search engines are not the fount of all knowledge.
suit It seems that Alice is very pleased with the suit.
lawsuit If we win this lawsuit, it will become precedent.
type This is the same type of camera as the one I lost.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
case		steady
fount		steady
suit		steady
lawsuit		rising
type		falling

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters: face¹, fact¹, type¹, suit¹, font¹
5 letters: cause¹, event², cover², chest¹, shell¹, fount
6 letters: action², sheath¹, incase²
7 letters: problem², subject², lawsuit², sheathe¹, vitrine
8 letters: question², instance², showcase²
9 letters: character³, situation⁴, eccentric³

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (event² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: cas
Italiano: caso
Español: caso
Deutsch: Fall
Català: cas