sued; suing

transitive verb

1
a
: to seek justice or right from (a person) by legal process
specifically : to bring an action against
b
: to proceed with and follow up (a legal action) to proper termination
2
archaic : to pay court or suit to : woo
3
obsolete : to make petition to or for

intransitive verb

1
: to take legal proceedings in court
2
: to make a request or application : plead
usually used with for or to
sue for peace
3
: to pay court : woo
he loved … but sued in vainWilliam Wordsworth
suer noun

Examples of sue in a Sentence

Some people sue over the most minor things. People injured in accidents caused by the defective tire have threatened to sue. They've threatened to sue the company. He is suing the doctor who performed the unnecessary surgery.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, and their 5-year-old son, who was in the backseat when he was detained, sued the government for his return. Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 13 Apr. 2025 The American Association of University Professors and the Harvard chapter of the AAUP have sued the Trump administration in order to stop it from threatening billions of dollars in Harvard’s federal funding. Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes.com, 13 Apr. 2025 In late January, the Justice Department sued to block the business software company Hewlett Packard Enterprise from buying Juniper Networks, a networking firm, for $14 billion. David McCabe, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025 The Harvard Crimson first reported that the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the Harvard faculty chapter of the group responded to Trump's threat by suing the administration. David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for sue

Word History

Etymology

Middle English sewen, siuen to follow, strive for, petition, from Anglo-French sivre, siure, from Vulgar Latin *sequere, from Latin sequi to follow; akin to Greek hepesthai to follow, Sanskrit sacate he accompanies

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of sue was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sue.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sue. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

sue

verb
sued; suing
1
: to seek justice from a person by bringing a legal action
2
: to make a request or application : plead
usually used with for or to
the weaker nation sued for peace
suer noun

Legal Definition

sue

verb
sued; suing

transitive verb

: to bring an action against : seek justice from by legal process

intransitive verb

: to bring an action in court
Etymology

Anglo-French suer, suire, literally, to follow, pursue, from Old French sivre, ultimately from Latin sequi to follow

Biographical Definition

Sue

biographical name

ˈsü How to pronounce Sue (audio)
ˈsᵫ
Eugène 1804–1857 originally Marie-Joseph Sue French novelist

More from Merriam-Webster on sue

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