4 results for: chords

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

chord¹ Audio Help (kôrd, kōrd) Pronunciation Key
n.

Music A combination of three or more pitches sounded simultaneously.
Harmony, as of color.

v. chord·ed, chord·ing, chords

v. intr.

To be in accord; agree.
Music To play chords on an instrument.

v. tr.

Music To play chords on.
To harmonize.

[Alteration (influenced by chord, musical instrument string) of Middle English cord, from accord, agreement, from Old French acorde, from acorder, to agree; see accord.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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chords

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

chord² Audio Help (kôrd, kōrd) Pronunciation Key
n.

A line segment that joins two points on a curve.
A straight line connecting the leading and trailing edges of an airfoil.
Anatomy Variant of cord.
An emotional feeling or response: Her words struck a sympathetic chord in her audience.
Archaic The string of a musical instrument.

[Alteration of cord.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

cord Audio Help (kôrd) Pronunciation Key
n.

A slender length of flexible material usually made of twisted strands or fibers and used to bind, tie, connect, or support.
An insulated flexible electric wire fitted with a plug or plugs.
A hangman's rope.
An influence, feeling, or force that binds or restrains; a bond or tie.
also chord also (kōrd) Anatomy A long ropelike structure, such as a nerve or tendon: a spinal cord.
1. A raised rib on the surface of cloth.
2. A fabric or cloth with such ribs.
cords Trousers made of corduroy.
Abbr. cd. A unit of quantity for cut fuel wood, equal to a stack measuring 4 × 4 × 8 feet or 128 cubic feet (3.62 cubic meters).

tr.v. cord·ed, cord·ing, cords

To fasten or bind with a cord: corded the stack of old newspapers and placed them in the recycling bin.
To furnish with a cord.
To pile (wood) in cords.

[Middle English, from Old French corde, from Latin chorda, from Greek khordē; see gherə- in Indo-European roots.]

cord'er n.

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