From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishof courseof coursea) KNOW somethingused to show that what you are saying is expected or already known and so not surprising You can pay by cheque, assuming of course you have a valid cheque card. Of course there are exceptions to every rule. b) AGREE (also course informal) spoken used to say yes or to give permission politely ‘Can I have a word with you?’ ‘Of course.’ ‘Can you give me a lift?’ ‘Course, no problem.’ c) (also course informal) spokenEMPHASIZETRUE used to emphasize that what you are saying is true or correct Of course he’ll come!well/but of course Well of course I love you. → course
Examples from the Corpus
well/but of course• It was an answer, but of course he had unremembered the question that invited it.• Both words are on the same page of the dictionary, but of course you know that.• The graphing procedure is the same as that previously explained, but of course the quantity data and relationship involved are different.• The woods were bright and sunny, the trees greening up nicely. But of course, that was just it!• I said. But of course in this light I could very clearly see he did.• Madge could see that Polly was still troubled, but of course she thought the whole problem was lack of roughage.• This is understandable, but of course it can make others wary of getting into conversation with you.of courseof ˈcourse ●●● S1 W1 adverb 1 SURPRISEDused to show that other people probably already know what you are saying is true, or expect to hear it Well, she won, of course. You should of course keep copies of all your correspondence. Of course there will be some difficult times ahead.2 AGREE spoken (also course informal) used to emphasize that you are saying ‘yes’ when someone asks your permission to do something ‘Can I ring you back in a minute?’ ‘Yes, of course.’ ‘Is it OK if I have another cup of coffee?’ ‘Course, help yourself.’3 spoken (also course informal) used to emphasize that what you are saying to someone is true or correct ‘Do you really believe her?’ ‘Of course I do!’ ‘I hope this idea of yours works.’ ‘Course it’ll work.’4 spoken used to show that you accept or agree with what someone has just said ‘Don’t get angry. She’s only 13.’ ‘Of course.’ ‘The correct answer is 83.’ ‘Oh, yes, of course.’5 → of course not/course not 