cohort

American  

[koh-hawrt] / ˈkoʊ hɔrt /

noun

1. a group or company.

   She has a cohort of admirers.

2. a companion or associate.

   Synonyms:

   buddy, pal, chum, fellow, comrade, friend

3. one of the ten divisions in an ancient Roman legion, numbering from 300 to 600 soldiers.

4. any group of soldiers or warriors.

5. an accomplice; abettor.

   He got off with probation, but his cohorts got ten years apiece.

6. a group of persons sharing a particular statistical or demographic characteristic.

   the cohort of all children born in 1980.

7. Biology. an individual in a population of the same species.

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cohort British  

/ ˈkəʊhɔːt /

noun

1. one of the ten units of between 300 and 600 men in an ancient Roman Legion

2. any band of warriors or associates

   the cohorts of Satan

3. an associate or follower

4. biology a taxonomic group that is a subdivision of a subclass (usually of mammals) or subfamily (of plants)

5. statistics a group of people with a statistic in common, esp having been born in the same year

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Usage

What does cohort mean? A cohort is a group of people, as in The senator is traveling with a large cohort. It can also refer to an associate or companion, as in I’m meeting up with some of my cohorts from my days as a salesperson. Sometimes, cohort refers to an accomplice in crime or some other underhanded activity, as in The supervillain and his cohorts have robbed yet another bank. When referring to a group, cohort can also be used in a more specific way to mean a group of people who share a common characteristic, come from the same demographic, or have been sorted into the same category. In statistical studies, it’s especially used to refer to people born in the same year or range of years, as in This study focuses on the cohort of people born between 1980 and 1985. In education, cohort is used to refer to a group of students, such as one consisting of students who started in the same year, or one of the multiple smaller groups that a class has been divided into. In biology, cohort is used to refer to an individual animal or organism in a population of the same species.

Etymology

Origin of cohort

First recorded in 1475–85; from Middle French cohorte, from Latin cohort- (stem of cohors ) “farmyard, armed force (originally, from a particular place or camp), cohort, retinue,” equivalent to co- “with, together” + hort- (akin to hortus “garden”); replacing late Middle English cohors, from Latin; co-, com-

Explanation

A cohort is a group of people who are around the same age, like a cohort of college students who have similar experiences and concerns. The word cohort was originally used to describe a military unit in ancient Rome. You can see how this retains traces of the word’s origins: cohorts are bound together by similar circumstances just like a group of soldiers in a military unit. Some language purists insist that the word only describe a group, such as a cohort of accountants, but it can also refer to companions or supporters, such as “Susie and her cohorts.”

Example Sentences

The first-generation college student is among a cohort of AI whiz kids who are dropping out of college—and getting their investors to pay their bills.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

This year, the influential retail cohort is taking a much more cautious approach as the war in Iran upends markets around the world.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026

In 2017, we initiated a cohort study with more than 700 elementary-school-age children across five northern Imperial Valley towns.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

The second, and main cohort, will help with operations in the Eastern Cape, Free State, North West and Western Cape provinces from 1 April for a year.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

‘I lost my cohort twice in Alaska - once in life, once in death to a Graecus named Percy Jackson. Still I have come here to answer Gaia’s call. Do you know why?’

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• companion
• comrade
• disciple
• follower