in any case

case ¹  (ks)

n.

1. An instance of something; an occurrence; an example: a case of mistaken identity. See Synonyms at example.

2. An occurrence of a disease or disorder: a mild case of flu.

3. A set of circumstances or a state of affairs; a situation: It may rain, in which case the hike will be canceled.

4. Actual fact; reality: We suspected the walls were hollow, and this proved to be the case.

5. A question or problem; a matter: It is simply a case of honor.

6. A situation that requires investigation, especially by a formal or official body.

7. Law

a. An action or a suit or just grounds for an action.

b. The facts or evidence offered in support of a claim.

8. A set of reasons or supporting facts; an argument: presented a good case for changing the law.

9. A person being assisted, treated, or studied, as by a physician, lawyer, or social worker.

10. Informal A peculiar or eccentric person; a character.

11. Linguistics

a. In traditional grammar, a distinct form of a noun, pronoun, or modifier that is used to express one or more particular syntactic relationships to other words in a sentence.

b. Case In some varieties of generative grammar, the thematic or semantic role of a noun phrase as represented abstractly but not necessarily indicated overtly in surface structure. In such frameworks, nouns in English have Case even in the absence of inflectional case endings.

Idioms:

in any case

Regardless of what has occurred or will occur.

in case

1. If it happens that; if.

2. As a precaution: took along an umbrella, just in case.

in case of

If there should happen to be: a number to call in case of emergency.

off (someone's) case

No longer nagging or urging someone to do something.

on (someone's) case

Persistently nagging or urging someone to do something.

---

[Middle English cas, from Old French, from Latin csus, from past participle of cadere, to fall; see kad- in Indo-European roots.]

---

case ²  (ks)

n.

1. A container; a receptacle: a jewelry case; meat-filled cases of dough.

2. A container with its contents.

3. A decorative or protective covering or cover.

4. A set or pair: a case of pistols.

5. The frame or framework of a window, door, or stairway.

6. The surface or outer layer of a metal alloy.

7. Printing A shallow compartmented tray for storing type or type matrices.

tr.v. cased, cas·ing, cas·es

1. To put into or cover with a case; encase.

2. Slang To examine carefully, as in planning a crime: cased the bank before robbing it.

---

[Middle English, from Norman French casse, from Latin capsa.]

Thesaurus

Adv.	1.	in any case - used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement; "Anyhow, he is dead now"; "I think they're asleep; anyhow, they're quiet"; "I don't know what happened to it; anyway, it's gone"; "anyway, there is another factor to consider"; "I don't know how it started; in any case, there was a brief scuffle"; "in any event, the government faced a serious protest"; "but at any rate he got a knighthood for it" anyhow, anyway, anyways, at any rate, in any event
	2.	in any case - making an additional point; anyway; "I don't want to go to a restaurant; besides, we can't afford it"; "she couldn't shelter behind him all the time and in any case he wasn't always with her" besides