1. special case - Noun
2. special case - Verb
a class of phenomena that is a subset of a more general class
a theorem or other statement that follows directly from a more general statement
special case (third-person singular simple present special cases, present participle special casing, simple past and past participle special cased)
(transitive, intransitive, chiefly programming) To treat something as a special case; to handle in an explicitly different way.
special-case (third-person singular simple present special-cases, present participle special-casing, simple past and past participle special-cased)
Alternative form of special case (“treat specially”)
special-case
The art of doing mathematics consists in finding that special case which contains all the germs of generality. David Hilbert
The psychology of committees is a special case of the psychology of mobs. Celia Green
Goats," said Maxwell Hyde, "are a special case. Mad as hatters, all of them. Diana Wynne Jones
Design is really a special case of problem solving. Edward de Bono
Tibet is a special case. Tibet was deliberately set aside by the Empire as free and neutral territory, a Switzerland for the spirit where there is no extradition, and Alp-Himalayas to draw the soul upward, and danger rare enough to tolerate. Thomas Pynchon
The real world is a special case. Latin Proverb