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We now affirm.


II


A


We start, of course, with the statutory text. Central Bank of Denver, N. A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N. A., 511 U. S. 164, 173 (1994). Unless otherwise defined, statutory terms are generally interpreted in accordance with their ordinary meaning. Perrin v. United States, 444 U. S. 37, 42 (1979). Read in this way, the text of §2415(a) is quite clear.

The statute of limitations imposed by §2415(a) applies when the Government commences any "action for money damages" by filing a "complaint" to enforce a contract, and the statute runs from the point when "the right of action accrues." The key terms in this provision-"action" and "complaint"-are ordinarily used in connection with judicial, not administrative, proceedings. In 1966, when §2415(a) was enacted, a commonly used legal dictionary defined the term "right of action" as "[t]he right to bring suit; a legal right to maintain an action," with "suit" meaning "any proceeding . . . in a court of justice." Black's Law Dictionary 1488, 1603 (4th ed. 1951) (hereinafter Black's). Likewise, "complaint" was defined as "the first or initiatory pleading on the part of the plaintiff in a civil action."3 Id., at 356. See also Unexcelled Chemical Corp. v. United States, 345 U. S. 59, 66 (1953) (holding that filing a complaint, in the ordinary sense of the term, means filing a suit in court, not initiating an administrative proceeding; "Commencement of an action by the filing of a complaint has too familiar a history . . . for us to assume that Congress did not mean to use the words in their ordinary sense"). The phrase "action for money damages" reinforces this reading because the term "damages" is generally used to mean "pecuniary compensation or indemnity, which may be recovered in the courts." Black's 466 (emphasis added).

Nothing in the language of §2415(a) suggests that Congress intended these terms to apply more broadly to administrative proceedings. On the contrary, §2415(a) distinguishes between judicial and administrative proceedings. Section 2415(a) provides that an "action" must commence "within one year after final decisions have been rendered in applicable administrative proceedings." Thus, Congress knew how to identify administrative proceedings and manifestly had two separate concepts in mind when it enacted §2415(a).4

B


In an effort to show that the term "action" is commonly used to refer to administrative, as well as judicial, proceedings, petitioners have cited numerous statutes and regulations that, petitioners claim, document this usage.5

These examples, however, actually undermine petitioners' argument, since none of them uses the term "action" standing alone to refer to administrative proceedings. Rather, each example includes a modifier of some sort, referring to an "administrative action," a "civil or administrative action," or "administrative enforcement actions." This pattern of usage buttresses the point that the term "action," standing alone, ordinarily refers to a judicial proceeding.

Petitioners contend that their broader interpretation of the statutory term "action" is supported by the reference to "every action for money damages" founded upon "any contract." 28 U.S.C. 2415(a) (emphasis added). But the broad terms "every" and "any" do not assist petitioners, as they do not broaden the ordinary meaning of the key term "action."
Petitioners argue that their interpretation is supported by Pennsylvania v. Delaware Valley Citizens' Council for Clean Air, 478 U. S. 546 (1986), and West v. Gibson, 527 U. S. 212 (1999), but this reliance is misplaced. In Delaware Valley Citizens' Council, we construed the attorney's fee provision of the Clean Water Act (CWA), which authorizes a "court, in issuing any final order in any action brought pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, [to] award costs of litigation . . . to any party." 42 U.S.C. 7604(d). We permitted the recovery of fees both for work done in court and in subsequent administrative proceedings. But the pertinent statutory provision in that case did not employ the key terms that appear in the statute at issue here. Specifically, the CWA provision referred to "litigation," not to an "action" commenced by the filing of a "complaint." Moreover, "the work done by counsel [in the administrative phase of the case] was as necessary to the attainment of adequate relief . . . as was all of their earlier work in the courtroom . . . obtaining the consent decree." 478 U. S., at 558. And we expressly reserved judgment on the question "whether an award of attorney's fees is appropriate . . . when there is no connected court action in which fees are recoverable." Id., at 560, n. 5
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