case
The word "case" may refer to a few different things.
A case
I went to the store and bought a case of beer. Restaurants buy wine by the case. Golf balls are expensive, but if you buy them by the case, the cost per ball drops considerably. Workers at a grocery store unpack fresh fruit and vegetables that arrive in a case. Rachel carries her guitar around in a guitar case.
This word is found in compound nouns:
A bookcase holds books. You use a staircase to move between floors of a building or a house. Milk, cheese, and yogurt are found in the dairy case at a grocery store. A gun case hold guns Charles carries a briefcase to work. (briefcase = a rectangular box used for carrying important paper and documents.)
Artists carry their paint, brushes, and other supplies in a case.
A case
The detectives are dealing with a difficult case that involves a person’s homicide. (murder) Scientists are studying an unusual case of influenza that is affecting people in southeast Asia. Tony has a case of the flu. Martha is conducting a case study on diabetes in children. (case study = research) A lawyer might spend half a year or more preparing for a legal case.
The word "case" is used for letters:
all of these words are in a lower case. ALL OF THESE WORDS ARE IN AN UPPER CASE. The beginning of a sentence or question uses an upper case letter. Proper nouns use an upper case.
If the word "case" is used as a verb, it means that a person is looking for something or preparing to do something.
Thieves cased the jewelry store for several days before robbing it. (case = to prepare for a theft) Police are casing the neighborhood looking for clues to a murder.
Combine the preposition "in" with "case" to form "in case." We use "in case" to describe preparations for possible activity:
People carry umbrellas in case it rains. There’s a spare tire in my car in case I get a flat. In case of an emergency, it’s good to carry around a cell phone. Tim secretly hides money in his shoe–just in case.
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July 27, 2015
