What does sue mean?
Sue means to bring a legal action against a person or organization in a court, usually to obtain damages or enforce a right. It is also used more broadly for making a formal complaint or petition to an authority, although this sense is less frequent in everyday usage. The legal verb is common in news and business reporting, as in phrases such as sue for damages, sue for breach of contract, and sue someone in court. Its connotations are adversarial and often confrontational, but the word describes bringing a claim rather than proving that the claim is valid. An older, now archaic sense means to court or woo someone, giving rise to the familiar noun suitor. The word ultimately comes from a language and Latin root associated with following or pursuing, a connection preserved in related words such as suit, sequence, and pursue.
To bring a legal action against a person or organization, especially to seek damages or enforce a legal right.
"The customer sued the manufacturer after the product failed."
The action is generally brought in a civil court and does not by itself imply that the plaintiff will prevail.
To make a formal complaint or petition against a person, institution, or authority.
"Parents sued the school board over its decision to close the library."
To court or woo someone; now archaic or literary.
"The knight returned to sue the duke's daughter."
This sense survives mainly in older literature and in the related noun suitor.
In older English, to sue someone could also mean to court or woo them, so a romantic suitor was literally someone who pursued a beloved.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does sue come from?
The English verb entered Middle English from Anglo-French sue, from Old French suer, meaning “to follow” or “pursue.” Old French suer came from Latin sequi, “to follow, pursue,” the source of many English words including sequence, suit, and pursue. The legal sense developed alongside the older romantic sense of courting or wooing, in which a suitor literally pursued a beloved.
Related word forms
How sue is actually used
In modern standard English, sue is primarily a legal verb. The formal-complaint sense is less common, while the sense meaning to court or woo is archaic and is chiefly encountered in literature or historical language.
Easily confused with sue
A subpoena is a formal order requiring a person to appear in court or provide evidence, whereas suing is the act of bringing a legal action against someone.
A suit is the legal action or case itself, while the verb sue refers to bringing that action against someone.