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to process

to process

9 8.5
To begin legal action against someone in court
  • verb
  • /ˈprɑːsɛs/
  • Formal
: demandar
  • All those seeking asylum will be processed and dealt with accordingly.
  • be processed in court
  • process offenders
  • process cases

Examples

  • Defender will appear Monday morning for processing at 7:00 a.m.

  • Tomorrow, he would begin to process the child as abandoned and offer to become a foster parent.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Can we process him at your station?

  • The order to process her will was on the way.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • The warrant is being processed right now.

  • Then I have no choice but to remand you to the Palace of Justice for processing.

  • At the head of the line, prisoners are being processed by a jailer and a couple of cops.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • He's been processed for deportation already.

  • The court will process your claim within the next few weeks.

  • She was notified that the judge decided to process her case without delay.

Synonyms

to file
vsto process
  • Formal
∞ 3.7

To officially give a document to a court or other authority

focuses more on starting proceedings or delivering documents rather than simple submission
to sue
vsto process
885 3.7

To take someone to court to ask for money

also covers delivering legal documents as well as starting proceedings
to serve
vsto process
  • Specialized
56 7.5

To give someone an official court paper in the correct legal way

also means beginning court proceedings in addition to document delivery
to file a lawsuit
vsto process
  • Formal
53 4.6

To start legal action by giving a complaint to a court

extends to formally delivering documents as an additional legal act
to take legal action
vsto process
  • Formal
10 4.8

To start a court case against someone by suing them

also includes the act of formally handing documents to persons
to swear out
vsto process
  • Jargon
5 8.4

To tell a court that someone did something wrong so it gives a warrant

is broader, covering starting proceedings and routine document delivery

Antonyms

515 3.3

To end an argument by agreement or decision

to dismiss
  • Formal
144 4.1

To end a legal case so the court does not consider it

Idioms

To take pleasure in the steps of doing something, not only the result

Believe in planned steps even when results are not clear

Compounds

peace process
  • Formal
106 3.0

A series of talks and actions to end a war and make peace between fighting sides

due process
  • Formal
77 4.0

Fair legal steps that follow rules and protect people from unfair loss of freedom or property

Mental steps used to consider and solve a problem

A series of steps people follow to make a choice in a group or organization

A change that happens in the world without human help

8 5.5

A rule that the government must follow fair legal steps before taking someone's life, freedom, or property

A set of steps a company uses to choose new workers

mental process
  • Specialized
6 4.2

A brain activity like thinking, remembering, or deciding

chemical process
  • Specialized
5 3.5

A process that changes the tiny particles that make a substance

physical process
  • Specialized
5 4.0

A change or movement in matter and energy that happens in nature and in experiments, like melting

biological process
  • Specialized
5 3.9

A process that happens inside a living thing and helps it live

cognitive process
  • Specialized
4 4.4

A mental activity such as thinking, remembering, or learning

industrial process
  • Specialized
4 3.4

A series of machine and chemical steps used to make goods in a factory

process-server
  • Specialized
4 7.7

A person who brings court papers to someone in a court case

4 4.8

Fair treatment in court and under the law

A method with two steps done one after the other

The physical stages a person goes through when a baby comes out of their body

metabolic process
  • Specialized
3 4.1

Processes inside a living cell or body that make and use energy to keep it alive

A set of steps people follow to make a product or finish a project

A set of actions that make, move, and sell goods and services in a country

A natural change on Earth that shapes rocks and land, like erosion or volcanoes

2 3.3

A cheese made by mixing different cheeses with other ingredients that help it melt smoothly

A way of making copies of text or pictures by putting ink on paper

A way people form groups, meet, and make connections that change society

spinous process
  • Specialized
1 8.4

A bony part on the back of each spine bone where muscles and ligaments attach

A natural set of actions that happen inside living things, like breathing or digestion

geologic process
  • Specialized
1 4.1

A natural change that makes, changes, or destroys Earth's rocks and land

unconscious process
  • Specialized
1 4.8

A mental activity that happens without you noticing or controlling it

mastoid process
  • Specialized
1 6.1

A bony bump behind the ear at the base of the skull

irreversible process
  • Specialized
1 5.5

A change that cannot be undone, for example melting or rusting

xiphoid process
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A small part at the bottom of the breastbone that can feel hard

olecranon process
  • Specialized
1 9.9

The bony bump at the back of the elbow that fits into the upper arm when the arm is straight

1 8.4

The act of giving legal papers to someone to start a court case

mathematical process
  • Specialized
1 3.5

A series of steps used to solve math problems like addition or multiplication

1 6.5

A method that makes steel by blowing air through liquid iron to remove carbon and other unwanted parts

transverse process
  • Specialized
1 8.7

A bony projection on each side of a vertebra where muscles attach

acromial process
  • Specialized
1 7.7

Outer point of the shoulder blade that forms the tip of the shoulder

1 9.8

The right of a person on trial to have witnesses brought by court order

reversible process
  • Specialized
1 6.0

A process where a system returns to how it started when the steps are done backward

Haber process
  • Specialized
1 5.5

A factory method for making ammonia by reacting nitrogen and hydrogen gases under high pressure and heat with iron

pathological process
  • Specialized
1 5.1

A change in the body that happens because of disease

bodily process
  • Specialized
1 3.4

A natural function inside a living body, like breathing or digestion

pathologic process
  • Specialized
1 6.2

A change in the body caused by disease

Markov process
  • Specialized
1 8.1

A process where the next state depends only on the current one

zygomatic process
  • Specialized
1 9.1

A thin part of the skull at the side of the face that helps form the cheekbone

stochastic process
  • Specialized
1 9.8

A series of random events that change over time

Haber-Bosch process
  • Specialized
1 5.3

A process that makes ammonia by combining nitrogen and hydrogen gases at high temperature and pressure with an iron catalyst

liquidation process
  • Specialized
1 5.8

Selling the things a company owns to pay its debts before it closes

alveolar process
  • Specialized
1 8.4

A raised part of the jaw bone that holds the sockets of the teeth

planting process
  • Specialized
1 3.0

Steps to put seeds or young trees into soil and help them grow

surgical process
  • Specialized
1 4.6

An operation where a surgeon cuts the body to fix or remove a problem

linguistic process
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A mental activity people use to understand, produce, or learn language

1 4.6

A simple mental action like seeing, remembering, or paying attention

styloid process
  • Specialized
1 8.1

A slender, pointed part of a bone at the base of the skull that muscles attach to

coronoid process
  • Specialized
1 9.8

A sharp triangular part that sticks out of a bone, for example the lower jaw or the ulna

1 7.4

A way of studying and changing how a company works to make it faster, cheaper, and better

adiabatic process
  • Specialized
1 9.1

A process in which no heat moves into or out of a system, for example when a gas expands quickly

process printing
  • Specialized
1 5.6

A way of making full-color images using four color inks

1 7.7

Thinking that uses what you have learned to reason, plan, or solve problems

fossilization process
  • Specialized
1 6.8

Natural changes that turn dead plants or animals into rock-like remains

1 8.2

A type of talk therapy that explores a person's hidden thoughts and childhood experiences

1 9.9

A way to make photographs on glass plates with a thin light-sensitive layer

1 7.9

A process in the mind where one thing stands for another, like a word for an idea

1 9.9

A random sequence whose statistical properties stay the same over time

cyanide process
  • Specialized
1 5.4

A method of taking gold and silver from ore using a cyanide solution

A change that happens slowly over a long time

Markoff process
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A random system where what happens next depends only on the present, not on the past

1 8.2

A way of making steel by melting iron and scrap metal in a large open furnace

Benday process
  • Archaic
9.9

A printing method using many small dots to make shades

bromoil process
  • Archaic
9.9

An old way to make photos by bleaching a print and painting it with oil ink for a painted look

carbon process
  • Archaic
8.8

A way of making photographs using paper covered with gelatin and pigment

condylar process
  • Specialized
9.8

A rounded bone at the top of the lower jaw that fits the jaw joint

condyloid process
  • Specialized
9.9

A rounded part at the top of the lower jaw that joins the skull

Surface Forms

process infinitive
processed past
processed past participle
processing present participle
processes third person singular

Etymology

To legally process someone comes from the idea of putting a case 'in motion' from the Latin root pro- 'forward' and cedere 'to go'. So to process a person in court is to begin the official steps or papers against them.