Cortex

//ˈkɔɹtɛks// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The outer layer of an internal organ or body structure, such as the kidney or the brain. countable

    "In the study, led by Ryota Kanai of the University College London, people who identified themselves as liberals generally had a larger anterior cingulate cortex — a comma-shaped region near the front of the brain that is involved in decision-making. By contrast, those who identified as conservatives had larger amygdalas — almond-shaped structures that are linked with emotional learning and the processing of fear."

  2. 2
    the tissue that surrounds the lens nucleus wordnet
  3. 3
    The tissue of a stem or root that lies inward from the epidermis, but exterior to the vascular tissue. uncountable
  4. 4
    the layer of unmyelinated neurons (the grey matter) forming the cortex of the cerebrum wordnet
  5. 5
    The outer surface of a piece of flint. countable, uncountable
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  1. 6
    the tissue forming the outer layer of an organ or structure in plant or animal wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
armaturearmorarmor platebarkbody armorborder

Example

More examples

"The cerebral cortex is the brain's outer layer."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cortex (“cork, bark”).

Related phrases

striate cortex

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.