complaint
//kəmˈpleɪnt//
Forms
- Plural
- complaints
Definitions
1.The act of complaining.
- He filed complaints with the housing authority.
- The company received numerous complaints about the product.
- Complaints have risen in particular from passengers changing trains, who have observed little or no improvement in their ability to navigate between the station's 13 platforms.
2.A grievance, problem, difficulty, or concern.
- I have no complaints about the quality of his work, but I don't enjoy his company.
3.In a civil action, the first pleading of the plaintiff setting out the facts on which the claim is based.
4.In criminal law, the preliminary charge or accusation made by one person against another to the appropriate court or officer, usually a magistrate.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #2337
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
From Middle English compleynte
From Anglo-Norman compleint
From Old French compleindre, eventually from Latin planctus (whence plaint).