You use in case or just in case to say that someone has something or does something because a particular thing might happen.
Be Careful!
After in case or just in case, you use a simple tense or should. You do not use 'will' or 'shall'.
Be Careful!
You do not use 'in case' or 'just in case' to say that something will happen as a result of something else happening. You do not say, for example, 'I will go in case he asks me'. You say 'I will go if he asks me'.
You say in that case or in which case to refer to a situation which has just been mentioned and to introduce a statement or suggestion that is a consequence of it.
You do not use 'in this case' to refer to a particular aspect of something. For example, you do not say 'Most of my friends lost their jobs, but I was very lucky in this case'. You say 'Most of my friends lost their jobs, but I was very lucky in this respect'.
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Noun | 1. | case - an occurrence of something; "it was a case of bad judgment"; "another instance occurred yesterday"; "but there is always the famous example of the Smiths" humiliation, mortification - an instance in which you are caused to lose your prestige or self-respect; "he had to undergo one humiliation after another" |
2. | case - a special set of circumstances; "in that event, the first possibility is excluded"; "it may rain in which case the picnic will be canceled" circumstance - a condition that accompanies or influences some event or activity | |
3. | ![]() civil suit - a lawsuit alleging violations of civil law by the defendant class action, class-action suit - a lawsuit brought by a representative member of a large group of people on behalf of all members of the group countersuit - a suit brought against someone who has sued you criminal suit - a lawsuit alleging violations of criminal law by the defendant moot - a hypothetical case that law students argue as an exercise; "he organized the weekly moot" paternity suit - a lawsuit filed to determine the father of a child born out of wedlock (and to provide for the support of the child once paternity is determined) legal proceeding, proceeding, proceedings - (law) the institution of a sequence of steps by which legal judgments are invoked law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order" | |
4. | case - the actual state of things; "that was not the case" fact - a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred; "first you must collect all the facts of the case" | |
5. | case - a portable container for carrying several objects; "the musicians left their instrument cases backstage" briefcase - a case with a handle; for carrying papers or files or books cardcase - a small case for carrying business cards cigarette case - a small flat case for holding cigarettes; can be carried in a purse or a pocket compact, powder compact - a small cosmetics case with a mirror; to be carried in a woman's purse container - any object that can be used to hold things (especially a large metal boxlike object of standardized dimensions that can be loaded from one form of transport to another) dispatch box, dispatch case - case consisting of an oblong container (usually having a lock) for carrying dispatches or other valuables glasses case - a case for carrying spectacles gun case - a case for storing a gun kit - a case for containing a set of articles letter case - case for carrying letters locket - a small ornamental case; usually contains a picture or a lock of hair and is worn on a necklace pillbox - a small case for holding pills portfolio - a large, flat, thin case for carrying loose papers or drawings or maps; usually leather; "he remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio" quiver - case for holding arrows shoe - (card games) a case from which playing cards are dealt one at a time sleeve - small case into which an object fits watch case - the metal case in which the works of a watch are housed writing desk - a portable case containing writing materials and having a writing surface | |
6. | case - a person requiring professional services; "a typical case was the suburban housewife described by a marriage counselor" individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do" client - a person who seeks the advice of a lawyer patient - a person who requires medical care; "the number of emergency patients has grown rapidly" referral - a person whose case has been referred to a specialist or professional group; "the patient is a referral from Dr. Bones" charity case, welfare case - a case for a welfare worker | |
7. | case - a person who is subjected to experimental or other observational procedures; someone who is an object of investigation; "the subjects for this investigation were selected randomly"; "the cases that we studied were drawn from two different communities" | |
8. | case - a problem requiring investigation; "Perry Mason solved the case of the missing heir" problem - a question raised for consideration or solution; "our homework consisted of ten problems to solve" | |
9. | case - a statement of facts and reasons used to support an argument; "he stated his case clearly" | |
10. | case - the quantity contained in a case containerful - the quantity that a container will hold | |
11. | case - nouns or pronouns or adjectives (often marked by inflection) related in some way to other words in a sentence grammatical category, syntactic category - (grammar) a category of words having the same grammatical properties nominative, nominative case, subject case - the category of nouns serving as the grammatical subject of a verb oblique, oblique case - any grammatical case other than the nominative | |
12. | case - a specific state of mind that is temporary; "a case of the jitters" frame of mind, state of mind - a temporary psychological state | |
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14. | ![]() type - printed characters; "small type is hard to read" type family - a complete set of type suitable for printing text unicameral script - a script with a single case bicameral script - a script having two distinct cases constant-width font, fixed-width font, monospaced font, typewriter font - a typeface is which each character is given the same width (as by a typewriter) proportional font - any font whose different characters have different widths cartridge font, font cartridge - any font that is contained in a cartridge that can be plugged into a computer printer black letter, Gothic - a heavy typeface in use from 15th to 18th centuries italic - a typeface with letters slanting upward to the right raster font, screen font - the font that is displayed on a computer screen; "when the screen font resembles a printed font a document may look approximately the same on the screen as it will when printed" Helvetica, sans serif - a typeface in which characters have no serifs | |
15. | case - an enveloping structure or covering enclosing an animal or plant organ or part theca - outer sheath of the pupa of certain insects lorica - a hard protective sheath (as secreted by certain protoctists, for example) medullary sheath, myelin sheath - a layer of myelin encasing (and insulating) the axons of medullated nerve fibers neurilemma, neurolemma - thin membranous sheath around a nerve fiber covering, natural covering, cover - a natural object that covers or envelops; "under a covering of dust"; "the fox was flushed from its cover" husk - outer membranous covering of some fruits or seeds | |
16. | case - the housing or outer covering of something; "the clock has a walnut case" boot - protective casing for something that resembles a leg grandfather clock, longcase clock - a pendulum clock enclosed in a tall narrow case housing - a protective cover designed to contain or support a mechanical component jacket - the tough metal shell casing for certain kinds of ammunition | |
17. | case - the enclosing frame around a door or window opening; "the casings had rotted away and had to be replaced" doorway, room access, door, threshold - the entrance (the space in a wall) through which you enter or leave a room or building; the space that a door can close; "he stuck his head in the doorway" framework - a structure supporting or containing something window - a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air | |
18. | case - (printing) the receptacle in which a compositor has his type, which is divided into compartments for the different letters, spaces, or numbers; "for English, a compositor will ordinarily have two such cases, the upper case containing the capitals and the lower case containing the small letters" printing - the business of producing printed material for sale or distribution receptacle - a container that is used to put or keep things in | |
19. | case - bed linen consisting of a cover for a pillow; "the burglar carried his loot in a pillowcase" bed linen - linen or cotton articles for a bed (as sheets and pillowcases) | |
20. | ![]() container - any object that can be used to hold things (especially a large metal boxlike object of standardized dimensions that can be loaded from one form of transport to another) trophy case - a case in which to display trophies | |
Verb | 1. | case - look over, usually with the intention to rob; "They men cased the housed" inspect - look over carefully; "Please inspect your father's will carefully" |
2. | case - enclose in, or as if in, a case; "my feet were encased in mud" pack - arrange in a container; "pack the books into the boxes" sack - put in a sack; "The grocer sacked the onions" crate - put into a crate; as for protection; "crate the paintings before shipping them to the museum" |