com‧plaint S3 W3 / kəmpleɪnt / 名词

1 [可数和不可数名词] a statement in which someone complains about something :

If you wish to make a complaint, you should see the manager.

The sales assistants are trained to deal with customer complaints in a friendly manner.

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.

2 [可数名词] 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 [可数名词] formal an illness that affects a particular part of your body :

He is having treatment for a chest complaint .

COLLOCATIONS

动词

make a complaint (= complain formally to someone ) The manager of the team decided to make a complaint about the referee.

file/lodge a complaint formal (= make a complaint ) She filed a complaint against several of her colleagues.

have a complaint (= want to complain about something ) Please let us know if you have any complaints about our service.

bring a complaint against somebody formal (= complain in a formal, legal way ) Higgins brought a complaint against his former manager.

receive a complaint ( also have a complaint ) Our department has received a number of complaints from the public.

deal with/handle a complaint Police officers came to the house to deal with a complaint about noise.

investigate a complaint The dog was rescued after officials investigated a complaint of neglect.

uphold a complaint (= say it is reasonable ) The complaint was upheld and the advertisement was withdrawn.

a complaint concerns something/relates to something We have received a number of complaints concerning faulty goods.

ADJECTIVES/NOUN + complaint

a formal/official complaint The man has lodged a formal complaint against the police.

a common/widespread/frequent complaint A common complaint of children is that parents do not listen to them.

a serious complaint Serious complaints of negligence have been made.

a customer/consumer complaint As a result of the improvements, customer complaints went down by 70%.

a bitter complaint (= a very angry one ) The people are full of bitter complaints about their government.

a familiar complaint (= one that you have heard many times ) A lack of good public transport is a familiar complaint.

短语

cause/grounds for complaint (= a good reason to complain ) I do not think that he has any cause for complaint.

a letter of complaint I wrote a letter of complaint to the hospital manager.

a complaints procedure (= a system for dealing with complaints ) There is a very straightforward complaints procedure you must follow.

THESAURUS

complaint something that you say or write when you are complaining, especially to someone in an official position : If you have any complaints, please contact our customer relations department. | Our main complaint is the poor standard of service. | If you have a complaint, you should write to the manager. | make a complaint : Some employees are worried about what will happen to them if they make a complaint. | complaint about : Keating was dismissed after complaints about the quality of his work. | formal complaint : Mr Kelly has made a formal complaint against the police. | letters of complaint : The commission has so far received nearly 10,000 letters of complaint.

protest when someone complains publicly about something that they think is wrong or unfair and should not be allowed to happen : Despite their protests, the students’ fees were increased. | in protest (= as a way of making a protest ) : When two members of the team were dismissed, the rest of them walked out in protest. | protest against : The ambassador lodged a formal protest against the proposals. | ignore somebody’s protests : Ignoring my protests, he took off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders.

grievance something that you feel unhappy about because you think that you have been treated unfairly – use this especially about an official complaint you make about the place where you work : file a grievance (= officially complain ) : She filed a grievance last year after her supervisor refused to promote her. | grievance against : Anyone who has a legitimate grievance against the company can take it to the arbitration committee. | air a grievance (= discuss a grievance publicly ) : The meetings give employees the opportunity to express their views or air grievances.