Tort Definition

tôrt
torts, tortest
noun
torts
A wrong that is committed by someone who is legally obligated to provide a certain amount of carefulness in behavior to another and that causes injury to that person, who may seek compensation in a civil suit for damages.
American Heritage
A wrongful act, injury, or damage (not involving a breach of contract), for which a civil action can be brought.
Webster's New World
A private or civil wrong for which a remedy may be sought, usually in the form of monetary damages; a breach of duty that exists under societal expectations regarding interaction among equals in a transaction, rather than arising from a specific contract.
Webster's New World Law
The branch of the legal system or legal code that deals with such wrongs.
Webster's New World Law

An injury or wrong. [from the mid-13th c.]

Wiktionary
Synonyms:
adjective
tortest
Wiktionary

(obsolete) Stretched tight; taut.

Wiktionary
suffix

To make something change its shape.

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Tort

Noun

Singular:
tort
Plural:
torts

Adjective

Base Form:
tort
Superlative:
tortest

Origin of Tort

  • Middle English injury from Old French from Medieval Latin tortum from Latin neuter past participle of torquēre to twist terkw- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Old French tort, from Latin tortum, substantive use of the past participle of torqueō (“twist, turn"). Compare with torsion, torture

    From Wiktionary

  • From Old French tort, from Latin tortum, from tortus (“twisted").

    From Wiktionary

  • Dialectal variation of tart.

    From Wiktionary

Find Similar Words

Find similar words to tort using the buttons below.

Words Starting With

Words Ending With

Unscrambles

tort