Music. a more or less independent passage, at the end of a composition, introduced to bring it to a satisfactory close.
Ballet. the concluding section of a ballet, especially the final part of a pas de deux.
a concluding section or part, especially one of a conventional form and serving as a summation of preceding themes, motifs, etc., as in a work of literature or drama.
anything that serves as a concluding part.
Phonetics. the segment of a syllable following the nucleus, as the d- sound in good.
music the final, sometimes inessential, part of a musical structure
a concluding part of a literary work, esp a summary at the end of a novel of further developments in the lives of the characters
First recorded in 1745–55; from Italian, from Latin cauda “tail”; cf. queue
First recorded in 1990–95
A coda is a concluding segment of a piece of music, a dance, or a statement. It's usually short and adds a final embellishment beyond a natural ending point. Like this. Coda comes from the Latin word cauda, meaning "tail," and it's good to think of it as a tail tacked onto something that in and of itself is already a whole. If you tell a story about your crazy experience getting lost in the country and sleeping at a farmer's house, you might add, as a coda, that the farmer ended up visiting you too, a year later.
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He said that he attended 12-step meetings through CoDA — Co-Dependents Anonymous.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2023
There are 12-step programs like CoDA and Al-Anon that address this, and there are books like Codependent No More that do as well.
From Slate • Aug. 8, 2018
If even that seems prohibitively expensive, you might consider attending a support group in your area like CoDA.
From Slate • Oct. 2, 2017
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
