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

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Etymology

Origin of chord¹

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

Origin of chord²

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

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Explanation

In music, a chord is three or more notes that combine harmoniously. You can play chords on a piano or guitar, but not on an instrument that plays one note at a time, like a trumpet. Chord comes from the French word for agreement, accord, so in music it means sounds that go together, or agree with each other. You can also use chord figuratively. If a book "strikes a chord" with you, you feel connected to it. In math, a chord is the straight line that connects two points on a curve.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chord

As a survivor of abuse herself, Abrams said, “It hit a chord with me.”

From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026

More significant, musically, it was orchestral pop with multiple movements; chord changes that might have impressed both Paul McCartney and Claude Debussy; and an obscurely poetic paean to lost love.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

Turturro admires Harry’s old-school pride in his craft, but the character’s devotion to his ailing wife struck a deeper chord.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

The protests - ignited at the Lycée Antoine-de-Saint-Exupéry in the deprived Paris suburb of Créteil - have struck a chord across the country.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Again, it is important to name a chord or interval as it has been spelled, in order to understand how it fits into the rest of the music.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

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