cord

[ kawrd ]
See synonyms for cord on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a string or thin rope made of several strands braided, twisted, or woven together.

  2. Electricity. a small, flexible, insulated cable.

  1. a ribbed fabric, especially corduroy.

  2. a cordlike rib on the surface of cloth.

  3. any influence that binds or restrains: cord of marriage.

  4. Anatomy. a cordlike structure: the spinal cord;umbilical cord.

  5. a unit of volume used chiefly for fuel wood, now generally equal to 128 cu. ft. (3.6 cu. m), usually specified as 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 4 feet high (2.4 m × 1.2 m × 1.2 meters). Abbreviation: cd, cd.

  6. a hangman's rope.

verb (used with object)
  1. to bind or fasten with a cord or cords.

  2. to pile or stack up (wood) in cords.

  1. to furnish with a cord.

Origin of cord

1
1250–1300; Middle English coord(e) <Anglo-French, Old French corde<Latin chorda<Greek chordḗ gut; confused in part of its history with chord1

Other words from cord

  • corder, noun
  • cordlike, adjective

Words that may be confused with cord

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cord in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cord

cord

/ (kɔːd) /


noun
  1. string or thin rope made of several twisted strands

  2. a length of woven or twisted strands of silk, etc, sewn on clothing or used as a belt

  1. a ribbed fabric, esp corduroy

  2. any influence that binds or restrains

  3. US and Canadian a flexible insulated electric cable, used esp to connect appliances to mains: Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): flex

  4. anatomy any part resembling a string or rope: the spinal cord

  5. a unit of volume for measuring cut wood, equal to 128 cubic feet

verb(tr)
  1. to bind or furnish with a cord or cords

  2. to stack (wood) in cords

Origin of cord

1
C13: from Old French corde, from Latin chorda cord, from Greek khordē; see chord 1

Derived forms of cord

  • corder, noun
  • cordlike, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012