What does "cork" mean?
The dead protective tissue between the bark and cambium in woody plants, with suberin deposits making it impervious to gasses and water.
Cork
/kɔɹk/ adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The dead protective tissue between the bark and cambium in woody plants, with suberin deposits making it impervious to gasses and water.
- Grammar: cork is listed as adj, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: phellem, air, asphyxiate, balsa.
- Useful contrasts: inner bark, legitimate, metal cap.
- Usage evidence: Alex seemed to learn nouns such as "paper," "key" and "cork," and color names such as "red," "green" and "yellow."
How to use "cork"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cork" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cork" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cork" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cork" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cork" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "phellem" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cork", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The dead protective tissue between the bark and cambium in woody plants, with suberin deposits making it impervious to gasses and water. uncountable
- 2 An aerialist maneuver involving a rotation where the rider goes heels over head, with the board overhead.
- 3 a small float usually made of cork; attached to a fishing line wordnet
- 4 The dead protective tissue between the bark and cambium in woody plants, with suberin deposits making it impervious to gasses and water.; The phellem of the cork oak, used for making bottle stoppers, flotation devices, and insulation material. countable, uncountable
"I confess my confidence was shaken by these actions, though I knew well enough that his leg was no more cork than my own"
- 5 the plug in the mouth of a bottle (especially a wine bottle) wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 A bottle stopper made from this or any other material. countable, uncountable
"Snobs feel it's hard to call it wine with a straight face when the cork is made of plastic."
- 7 outer bark of the cork oak; used for stoppers for bottles etc. wordnet
- 8 An angling float, also traditionally made of oak cork. countable, uncountable
- 9 (botany) outer tissue of bark; a protective layer of dead cells wordnet
- 10 The cork oak, Quercus suber. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To seal or stop up, especially with a cork stopper. transitive
"2014, Paul Salopek, Blessed. Cursed. Claimed., National Geographic (December 2014)https://web.archive.org/web/20150212214621/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/pilgrim-roads/salopek-text Arms draped on shoulders, kick-stepping in circles, they swing bottles of wine. Purpled thumbs cork the bottles. The wine leaps and jumps behind green glass."
- 2 To perform such a maneuver.
- 3 stuff with cork wordnet
- 4 To blacken (as) with a burnt cork. transitive
- 5 close a bottle with a cork wordnet
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 To leave the cork in a bottle after attempting to uncork it.
- 7 To fill with cork.
- 8 To fill with cork.; To tamper with (a bat) by drilling out part of the head and filling the cavity with cork or similar light, compressible material. transitive
"He corked his bat, which was discovered when it broke, causing a controversy."
- 9 To injure through a blow; to induce a haematoma. Australia, transitive
"The vicious tackle corked his leg."
- 10 To position one's drift net just outside of another person's net, thereby intercepting and catching all the fish that would have gone into that person's net.
"Kate remembered then, the family fish camp a mile or so up Amartuq Creek, the very creek across the mouth of which Yuri Andreev had tried to cork Joe Anahonak not half an hour before."
- 11 To block (a street) illegally, to allow a protest or other activity to take place without traffic. transitive
"[…] corking the streets is a challenge to capitalist ideologies, like skateboarding in parking lots and walkways […]"
Adjective
- 1 Having the property of a head over heels rotation. not-comparable
Proper Noun
- 1 The principal city of County Cork, Ireland.
- 2 A county in the Republic of Ireland (County Cork).
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Alex seemed to learn nouns such as "paper," "key" and "cork," and color names such as "red," "green" and "yellow.""
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cork"?
Common synonyms include: phellem, air, asphyxiate, balsa, balsa raft, bar.
How do you use "cork" in a sentence?
Alex seemed to learn nouns such as "paper," "key" and "cork," and color names such as "red," "green" and "yellow."
How do you pronounce "cork"?
Pronounced /kɔɹk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English cork (“oak bark, cork”), from Middle Dutch curc (“cork (material or object)”), either from Spanish corcho (“cork (material or object)”) (also corcha or corche) or from Old Spanish alcorque (“cork sole”). Doublet of cortex.
Etymology 2
From the traversal path resembling that of a corkscrew.
Etymology 3
From Irish Corcaigh (“bog, marsh, swamp”).