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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
Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 16 May 2024
The $100 million mass tort lawsuit has nearly 300 plaintiffs — homeowners and renters as well as business owners in the communities of Southcrest, Logan Heights and others along the Chollas Creek watershed.
—Emily Alvarenga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 May 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.
Dictionary Entries Near tort
Cite this Entry
“Tort.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tort. Accessed 29 May. 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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