Cord

//kɔɹd// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A long, thin, flexible length of twisted yarns (strands) of fibre (a rope, for example). countable

    "The burglar tied up the victim with a cord."

  2. 2
    a line made of twisted fibers or threads wordnet
  3. 3
    Any quantity of such material when viewed as a mass or commodity. uncountable

    "He looped some cord around his fingers."

  4. 4
    a cut pile fabric with vertical ribs; usually made of cotton wordnet
  5. 5
    A small flexible electrical conductor composed of wires insulated separately or in bundles and assembled together usually with an outer cover; the electrical cord of a lamp, sweeper ((US) vacuum cleaner), or other appliance. countable, uncountable
Show 7 more definitions
  1. 6
    a light insulated conductor for household use wordnet
  2. 7
    A unit of measurement for firewood, equal to 128 cubic feet (4 × 4 × 8 feet), composed of logs and/or split logs four feet long and none over eight inches diameter. It is usually seen as a stack four feet high by eight feet long. countable, uncountable

    "Unerringly impelling this dead, impregnable, uninjurable wall, and this most buoyant thing within; there swims behind it all a mass of tremendous life, only to be adequately estimated as piled wood is—by the cord; and all obedient to one volition, as the smallest insect."

  3. 8
    a unit of amount of wood cut for burning; 128 cubic feet wordnet
  4. 9
    Any influence by which persons are caught, held, or drawn, as if by a cord. countable, figuratively, uncountable

    "Clear-headed friend, whose joyful scorn, / Edged with sharp laughter, cuts atwain / The knots that tangle human creeds, / The wounding cords that bind and strain / The heart until it bleeds, […]"

  5. 10
    Any structure having the appearance of a cord, especially a tendon or nerve. countable, uncountable

    "spermatic cord; spinal cord; umbilical cord; vocal cords"

  6. 11
    Dated form of chord. alt-of, countable, dated, uncountable
  7. 12
    Misspelling of chord, a cross-section measurement of an aircraft wing. alt-of, countable, misspelling, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To furnish with cords.
  2. 2
    bind or tie with a cord wordnet
  3. 3
    To tie or fasten with cords.
  4. 4
    stack in cords wordnet
  5. 5
    To flatten a book during binding.
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    To arrange (wood, etc.) in a pile for measurement by the cord.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English corde, from Old French corde, from Latin chorda, from Ancient Greek χορδή (khordḗ, “string of gut, the string of a lyre”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰerH- (“bowels, intestines”)). Doublet of chord and cuerda. More at yarn and hernia.

Etymology 2

From Middle English corde, from Old French corde, from Latin chorda, from Ancient Greek χορδή (khordḗ, “string of gut, the string of a lyre”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰerH- (“bowels, intestines”)). Doublet of chord and cuerda. More at yarn and hernia.

Next best steps

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: cord