case
/keɪs/noun, adjective, verb
case is spelled C-A-S-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 355 times per million words in written English, the 256th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, case means “An actual event, situation, or fact” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of case is cases.
How many letters and syllables are in case?
| Letters | 4: C-A-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 355 times per million words; the 256th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is case?
Case appears 355 times per million words in written English, the 256th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce case?
- /keɪs/
Case has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Pvanp7-case.wav, En-us-case.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with case?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as case.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: aces, esca.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of case
- cases plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- casing participle, present
- cased participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does case mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An actual event, situation, or fact.
For a change, in this case, he was telling the truth.
- 2
archaicA given condition or state.
- 3
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.
- 4
An instance or event as a topic of study.
The teaching consists of theory lessons and case studies.
- 5
A legal proceeding; a lawsuit or prosecution.
- 6
A specific inflection of a word (particularly a noun, pronoun, or adjective) depending on its function in the sentence.
The accusative case most commonly indicates a direct object.
- 7
Grammatical cases and their meanings taken either as a topic in general or within a specific language.
Jane has been studying case in Caucasian languages.
- 8
An instance of a specific condition or set of symptoms.
There were another five cases reported overnight.
- 9
A box that contains or can contain a number of identical items of manufacture or commerce.
- 10
A box, sheath, or covering generally.
a case for spectacles; the case of a watch
- 11
A piece of luggage that can be used to transport an apparatus such as a sewing machine.
- 12
An enclosing frame or casing.
a door case; a window case
- 13
A suitcase.
- 14
A piece of furniture, constructed partially of transparent glass or plastic, within which items can be displayed.
- 15
The outer covering or framework of a piece of apparatus such as a computer.
- 16
A shallow tray divided into compartments or “boxes” for holding type, traditionally arranged in sets of two, the “upper case” (containing capitals, small capitals, accented) and "lower case" (small letters, figures, punctuation marks, quadrats, and spaces).
adjective
- 1
slangThe last remaining card of a particular rank.
He drew the case eight!
verb
- 1
To place (an item or items of manufacture) into a box, as in preparation for shipment.
- 2
To cover or protect with, or as if with, a case; to enclose.
- 3
informalTo survey (a building or other location) surreptitiously, as in preparation for a robbery.
Bonnie worked as a daycare director. She helped case the FBI office by posing as a college student interested in becoming an FBI agent.
- 4
obsoleteTo propose hypothetical cases.
noun
- 1
Acronym of computer-aided software engineering.
- 2
Acronym of coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers.
noun
- 1
abstract feature of a noun phrase that determines its function in a sentence, such as a grammatical case and a position.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Case in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | cas , cause , caisse , écrin , malle , vitrine |
| German | Fall, Sache, Beispiel, Punkt, Argument , Kiste |
| Portuguese | caso , causa , caixa , maleta, mala, valise |
| Spanish | caso , causa, pleito, argumento , caja , estuche |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does case come from?
From Middle English cas, from Old French cas (“an event”), from Latin cāsus (“a falling, a fall; accident, event, occurrence; occasion, opportunity; noun case”), perfect passive participle of cadō (“to fall, to drop”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).