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We won't complain about the origins of plaintiff, although complain and plaintiff are distantly related; both can be traced back to plangere, a Latin word meaning "to strike, beat one's breast, or lament." Plaintiff comes most immediately from Middle English plaintif, itself an Anglo-French borrowing tracing back to plaint, meaning "lamentation." (The English word plaintive is also related.) Logically enough, plaintiff applies to the one who does the complaining in a legal case.
Examples of plaintiff in a Sentence
Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 16 Sep. 2025
The 22 plaintiffs include youths and young adults from Montana and several other states.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2025
Some plaintiffs allege they were restrained in straitjackets for as long as 16 hours.
—Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
One plaintiff owes around $198,000 in federal student loan debt, according to the AFT filing.
—Annie Nova, CNBC, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for plaintiff
Cite this Entry
“Plaintiff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plaintiff. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
plaintiff
noun
Legal Definition
plaintiff
noun
Middle French plaintif, from plaintif, adj., grieving, from plaint lamentation, from Latin planctus, from plangere to strike, beat one's breast, lament
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