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Tort came into English straight from French many centuries ago, and it still looks a little odd. Its root meaning of "twisted" (as opposed to "straight") obviously came to mean "wrong" (as opposed to "right"). Every first-year law student takes a course in the important subject of torts. Torts include all the so-called "product-liability" cases, against manufacturers of cars, household products, children's toys, and so on. They also cover dog bites, slander and libel, and a huge variety of other very personal cases of injury, both mental and physical—Torts class is never dull. If you're sued for a tort and lose, you usually have to pay "damages"—that is, a sum of money—to the person who you wronged.
Examples of tort in a Sentence
Jessie Christopher Smith, USA TODAY, 15 Aug. 2024
Karnes said the Navy hoped to double the number of staff in the tort claims unit by the end of last summer and had been setting up an online claims portal.
—Brenda Goodman, CNN, 8 Aug. 2024
This exceptional decision would have the effect of robbing states of jurisdiction not only over climate cases, but also over a range of other tort and products liability cases that future defendants would analogize to these suits.
—David A. Dana, Chicago Tribune, 16 July 2024
In the bill, only the Attorney General can sue, whereas under tort law anybody can sue.
—Kelsey Piper, Vox, 19 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for tort 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tort.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Tort.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tort. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
tort
nounAnglo-French, wrongful or illegal act, from Old French, injury, from Medieval Latin tortum, from Latin, neuter of tortus twisted, from past participle of torquēre to twist
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