Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old French
Origin: complainte, from complaindre; COMPLAIN

complaint

 noun
     
Related topics: Illness and Disability
com‧plaint S2 W3
1 [uncountable and countable] a statement in which someone complains about something:
The sales assistants are trained to deal with customer complaints in a friendly manner.
A common complaint among air passengers is that not enough leg room is provided.
complaint about
Keating was dismissed after complaints about the quality of his work.
complaint of
complaints of police brutality
complaint from/to
complaints from local residents
a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority
complaint against
All complaints against police officers are carefully investigated.
complaint that
We are concerned by complaints that children are being bullied.
If you wish to make a complaint, you should see the manager (=complain formally to someone).
have/receive a complaint
The BBC received a stream of complaints about the programme.
Complaints are dealt with by the customer services department.
The Council received over 10,000 letters of complaint.
file/lodge/submit a complaint (=complain officially to someone)
She went to the city council and lodged a complaint.
reason/cause/grounds for complaint
Anyone dismissed because of their race has legitimate grounds for complaint.
a complaints procedure (=a system for dealing with complaints)
2 [countable] something that you complain about:
Our main complaint was the poor standard of service.
My only complaint is that the price is rather high.
3 [countable]MI formal an illness that affects a particular part of your body:
He is having treatment for a chest complaint.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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