Case vs. File — What's the Difference?

An instance of a particular situation; an example of something occurring

A container, such as a cabinet or folder, for keeping papers in order.

An instance of a disease, injury, or problem

A collection of papers or published materials kept or arranged in convenient order.

A legal action, especially one to be decided in a court of law

(Computers) A collection of data or program records stored as a unit with a single name.

Any of the forms of a noun, adjective, or pronoun that express the semantic relation of the word to other words in the sentence

A line of persons, animals, or things positioned one behind the other.

A container designed to hold or protect something

A line of troops or military vehicles so positioned.

Each of the two forms, capital or minuscule, in which a letter of the alphabet may be written or printed.

(Games) Any of the rows of squares that run forward and backward between players on a playing board in chess or checkers.

Surround in a material or substance

(Archaic) A list or roll.

Reconnoitre (a place) before carrying out a robbery

Any of several hardened steel tools with cutting ridges for forming, smoothing, or reducing especially metallic surfaces.

An instance or occurrence of a particular kind or category

A nail file.

An occurrence of a disease or disorder

Chiefly British A crafty or artful person.

A set of circumstances or a state of affairs; a situation

Powdered sassafras leaves used to thicken and season soups, stews, and gumbos.

Actual fact; reality

To put or keep (papers, for example) in useful order for storage or reference.

A question or problem; a matter

To enter (a legal document) as an official record.

A situation that requires investigation, especially by a formal or official body.

To send or submit (copy) to a newspaper.

An action or a suit or just grounds for an action.

To initiate (a lawsuit)

The facts or evidence offered in support of a claim.

To march or walk in a line.

A set of reasons or supporting facts; an argument

To put items in a file.

A person being assisted, treated, or studied, as by a physician, lawyer, or social worker.

To make application; apply

(Informal) A peculiar or eccentric person; a character.

To enter one's name in a political contest

In traditional grammar, a distinct form of a noun, pronoun, or modifier that is used to express one or more particular syntactic relationships to other words in a sentence.

To smooth, reduce, or remove with or as if with a file.

Case In some varieties of generative grammar, the thematic or semantic role of a noun phrase as represented abstractly but not necessarily indicated overtly in surface structure. In such frameworks, nouns in English have Case even in the absence of inflectional case endings.

To sully or defile.

A container; a receptacle

A collection of papers collated and archived together.

A container with its contents.

A roll or list.

A decorative or protective covering or cover.

Course of thought; thread of narration.

A set or pair

(computing) An aggregation of data on a storage device, identified by a name.

The frame or framework of a window, door, or stairway.

(computing) The primary item on the menu bar, containing commands such as open, save, print, etc.

The surface or outer layer of a metal alloy.

A row of modular kitchen units and a countertop, consisting of cabinets and appliances below (dishwasher) and next to (stove/cooker) a countertop.

A shallow compartmented tray for storing type or type matrices.

(North America) file cabinet.

The form of a written, printed, or keyed letter that distinguishes it as being lowercase or uppercase

A column of people one behind another, whether "single file" or in a grid pattern.

To put into or cover with a case; encase.

(military) A small detachment of soldiers.

(Slang) To examine carefully, as in planning a crime

(chess) one of the eight vertical lines of squares on a chessboard (i.e., those identified by a letter).

An actual event, situation, or fact.

A hand tool consisting of a handle to which a block of coarse metal is attached, and used for removing sharp edges or for cutting, especially through metal.

A given condition or state.

A cunning or resourceful person.

A piece of work, specifically defined within a profession.

(transitive) To commit (official papers) to some office.

(academia) An instance or event as a topic of study.

(transitive) To submit (a story) to a newspaper or similar publication.

(legal) A legal proceeding, lawsuit.

(transitive) To place in an archive in a logical place and order.

(grammar) A specific inflection of a word (particularly a noun, pronoun, or adjective) depending on its function in the sentence.

(transitive) To store a file aggregation of data on a storage medium such as a disc or another computer.

Grammatical cases and their meanings taken either as a topic in general or within a specific language.

To submit a formal request to some office.

(medicine) An instance of a specific condition or set of symptoms.

To set in order; to arrange, or lay away.

(programming) A section of code representing one of the actions of a conditional switch.

(intransitive) To move in a file.

A box that contains or can contain a number of identical items of manufacture.

(transitive) To smooth, grind, or cut with a file.

A box, sheath, or covering generally.

(archaic) To defile.

A piece of luggage that can be used to transport an apparatus such as a sewing machine.

To corrupt.

An enclosing frame or casing.

An orderly succession; a line; a row

A suitcase.

An orderly collection of papers, arranged in sequence or classified for preservation and reference; as, files of letters or of newspapers; this mail brings English files to the 15th instant.

A piece of furniture, constructed partially of transparent glass or plastic, within which items can be displayed.

Course of thought; thread of narration.

The outer covering or framework of a piece of apparatus such as a computer.

A roll or list.

A shallow tray divided into compartments or "boxes" for holding type, traditionally arranged in sets of two, the "upper case" (containing capitals, small capitals, accented) and "lower case" (small letters, figures, punctuation marks, quadrats, and spaces).

A collection of data on a digital recording medium treated as a unit for the purpose of recording, reading, storage, or indexing; - such a file is typically accessible by computer programs by the use of a file name. The data may be of any type codable digitally, such as simple ASCII-coded text, complex binary-coded data, or an executable program, or may be itself a collection of other files.

The nature of a piece of alphabetic type, whether a “capital” (upper case) or “small” (lower case) letter.

A steel instrument, having cutting ridges or teeth, made by indentation with a chisel, used for abrading or smoothing other substances, as metals, wood, etc.

(poker slang) Four of a kind.

Anything employed to smooth, polish, or rasp, literally or figuratively.

(US) A unit of liquid measure used to measure sales in the beverage industry, equivalent to 192 fluid ounces.

A shrewd or artful person.

(mining) A small fissure which admits water into the workings.

To set in order; to arrange, or lay away, esp. as papers in a methodical manner for preservation and reverence; to place on file; to insert in its proper place in an arranged body of papers.

A thin layer of harder metal on the surface of an object whose deeper metal is allowed to remain soft.

To bring before a court or legislative body by presenting proper papers in a regular way; as, to file a petition or bill.

A cardboard box that holds (usually 24) beer bottles or cans.

To put upon the files or among the records of a court; to note on (a paper) the fact date of its reception in court.

A counterfeit crown five-shilling coin.

To march in a file or line, as soldiers, not abreast, but one after another; - generally with off.

(obsolete) to propose hypothetical cases

To rub, smooth, or cut away, with a file; to sharpen with a file; as, to file a saw or a tooth.

(transitive) To place (an item or items of manufacture) into a box, as in preparation for shipment.

To smooth or polish as with a file.

(transitive) To cover or protect with, or as if with, a case; to enclose.

To make foul; to defile.

To survey (a building or other location) surreptitiously, as in preparation for a robbery.

A set of related records (either written or electronic) kept together

(poker slang) The last remaining card of a particular rank.

A line of persons or things ranged one behind the other

A box, sheath, or covering; as, a case for holding goods; a case for spectacles; the case of a watch; the case (capsule) of a cartridge; a case (cover) for a book.

Office furniture consisting of a container for keeping papers in order

A box and its contents; the quantity contained in a box; as, a case of goods; a case of instruments.

A steel hand tool with small sharp teeth on some or all of its surfaces; used for smoothing wood or metal

A shallow tray divided into compartments or "boxes" for holding type.

Record in a public office or in a court of law;

An inclosing frame; a casing; as, a door case; a window case.

Smooth with a file;

A small fissure which admits water to the workings.

Proceed in line;

Chance; accident; hap; opportunity.

File a formal charge against;

That which befalls, comes, or happens; an event; an instance; a circumstance, or all the circumstances; condition; state of things; affair; as, a strange case; a case of injustice; the case of the Indian tribes.

Place in a container for keeping records;

A patient under treatment; an instance of sickness or injury; as, ten cases of fever; also, the history of a disease or injury.

The matters of fact or conditions involved in a suit, as distinguished from the questions of law; a suit or action at law; a cause.

One of the forms, or the inflections or changes of form, of a noun, pronoun, or adjective, which indicate its relation to other words, and in the aggregate constitute its declension; the relation which a noun or pronoun sustains to some other word.

To cover or protect with, or as with, a case; to inclose.

To strip the skin from; as, to case a box.

To propose hypothetical cases.

A comprehensive term for any proceeding in a court of law whereby an individual seeks a legal remedy;

An occurrence of something;

A special set of circumstances;

A problem requiring investigation;

The actual state of things;

A statement of facts and reasons used to support an argument;

A portable container for carrying several objects;

A person who is subjected to experimental or other observational procedures; someone who is an object of investigation;

A person requiring professional services;

The quantity contained in a case

A glass container used to store and display items in a shop or museum or home

A specific state of mind that is temporary;

Nouns or pronouns or adjectives (often marked by inflection) related in some way to other words in a sentence

The housing or outer covering of something;

A person of a specified kind (usually with many eccentricities);

An enveloping structure or covering enclosing an animal or plant organ or part

The enclosing frame around a door or window opening;

Bed linen consisting of a cover for a pillow;

Look over, usually with the intention to rob;

Enclose in, or as if in, a case;