chord

¹ American  

[kawrd] / kɔrd /

noun

1. a feeling or emotion.

   His story struck a chord of pity in the listeners.

2. Geometry. the line segment between two points on a given curve.

3. Engineering, Building Trades. a principal member of a truss extending from end to end, usually one of a pair of such members, more or less parallel and connected by a web composed of various compression and tension members.

4. Aeronautics. a straight line joining the trailing and leading edges of an airfoil section.

5. Anatomy. cord.

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chord ² American  

[kawrd] / kɔrd /

noun

1. a combination of usually three or more musical tones sounded simultaneously.

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verb (used with object)

1. to establish or play a chord or chords for (a particular harmony or song); harmonize or voice.

   How would you chord that in B flat?

chord ¹ British  

/ kɔːd /

noun

1. maths

   1. a straight line connecting two points on a curve or curved surface

   2. the line segment lying between two points of intersection of a straight line and a curve or curved surface

2. engineering one of the principal members of a truss, esp one that lies along the top or the bottom

3. anatomy a variant spelling of cord

4. an emotional response, esp one of sympathy

   the story struck the right chord

5. an imaginary straight line joining the leading edge and the trailing edge of an aerofoil

6. archaic the string of a musical instrument

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chord ² British  

/ kɔːd /

noun

1. the simultaneous sounding of a group of musical notes, usually three or more in number See concord discord

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verb

1. (tr) to provide (a melodic line) with chords

chord Scientific  

/ kôrd /

1. A line segment that joins two points on a curve.

2. A straight line connecting the leading and trailing edges of an airfoil.

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chord Cultural  

1. In music, the sound of three or more notes played at the same time. The history of Western music is marked by an increase in complexity of the chords composers use.

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chord Idioms  

1. see strike a chord.

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Other Word Forms

• chordal adjective
• chorded adjective

Etymology

Origin of chord¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin chorda < Greek chordḗ gut, string; replacing cord in senses given

Origin of chord¹

1350–1400; earlier cord, Middle English, short for accord; ch- from chord ¹

Example Sentences

In fact, it often fails to strike the intended chord with prospective viewers.

From Salon

In a sense, Kirk has adopted a strategy used by pianists like Nat King Cole; when Cole plays the melody, or the “head” as musicians call it, he often phrases orchestrally, in rich block chords.

From The Wall Street Journal

By contrast, in a U.S. pop hit, “you can do four chords the whole time,” or just loop a single section of music over and over.

From The Wall Street Journal

He cheerfully refused broadcast interviews because he knew how his rasping vocal chords could be interpreted.

From BBC

Sometimes that summary nestles within internal stirrings, like the goosebumps produced by the opening chords of Jane’s Addiction’s “Ocean Size” when Sydney Chandler’s Wendy realizes she can speak to the xemomorphs.

From Salon

Related Words

• arc
• arch
• contour
• loop
• trajectory