corps

American  

[kawr] / kɔr /

noun

• corps
  plural

1. Military.

   1. a military organization consisting of officers and enlisted personnel or of officers alone: corps of cadets.

      the U.S. Marine Corps;

      corps of cadets.

   2. Also called army corps. a military unit of ground combat forces consisting of two or more divisions and other troops.

2. a group of persons associated or acting together.

   the diplomatic corps;

   the press corps.

   Synonyms:

   band, crew, force, team

3. Printing. a Continental designation that, preceded by a number, indicates size of type in Didot points of 0.0148 inch (3.8 millimeters).

   14 corps.

4. Obsolete. corpse.

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corps British  

/ kɔː /

noun

1. a military formation that comprises two or more divisions and additional support arms

2. a military body with a specific function

   intelligence corps

   medical corps

3. a body of people associated together

   the diplomatic corps

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• corps
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of corps

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English corps, cors, from Middle French, from Latin corpus “body”; see also corpse

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Explanation

A corps is an army unit consisting of at least two divisions. This word can also refer to other groups of people, like a press corps, which is a gang of journalists trying to get the scoop. Although the word corps comes from the Latin corpus, for “body,” don’t pronounce the p or you’re talking about the kind of body that goes in a coffin. The main meaning of a corps (which is singular despite the s) is a unit of the army. The word applies to other groups, too. A law firm has a corps of lawyers, a doctor has a corps of nurses, and a tiny car could have a corps of clowns.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

corps

The Chargers’ offense, already weakened by a series of injuries to its offensive line and receiving corps, struggled mightily, recording their second-lowest output of the season at 259 total yards.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026

These are precisely the questions that a serious press corps should pursue relentlessly.

From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026

At the time, the War Department recognized schools such as Pennsylvania Military College and LSU as distinguished military colleges based on an annual formal inspection of their corps of cadets programs, facilities and instruction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Trump hailed his new spokeswoman's credentials, including her work for his presidential campaigns, and said he was confident she would enjoy a good relationship with the White House press corps.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

I was now a platoon sergeant, a cadet master sergeant, and the youngest senior noncommissioned officer in the entire corps.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore

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Related Words

• band
• body
• contingent
• crew
• detachment
• division
• squad
• squadron
• troop
• troupe
• unit

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