class action

American

noun

a legal proceeding in which persons representing interests common to a large group participate as representatives of the group or class.

class action British

noun

law a legal action undertaken by one or more people representing the interests of a large group of people with the same grievance

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

class-action adjective

Etymology

Origin of class action

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“But the problem is, even with a class action, how much is the lawyer?”

From The Wall Street Journal

“I’m not counting on a refund, but will likely join a class action lawsuit with other small business owners to get our money back if we can,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal

Bayer’s Anderson said that the proposed class action settlement, along with the Supreme Court case, “provides an essential path out of the litigation uncertainty.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Costco’s famed $4.99 rotisserie chicken is under fire in a proposed class action lawsuit claiming that the big box warehouse falsely advertised that its birds were preservative free.

From Los Angeles Times

The claim has been brought as a class action lawsuit rather than an individual case - meaning if it is approved, the money will be paid out across many different claimants.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023