cord

American  

[kawrd] / kɔrd /

noun

• cords
  plural

1. a string or thin rope made of several strands braided, twisted, or woven together.

2. Electricity. a small, flexible, insulated cable.

3. a ribbed fabric, especially corduroy.

4. a cordlike rib on the surface of cloth.

5. any influence that binds or restrains.

   cord of marriage.

6. Anatomy. a cordlike structure.

   the spinal cord;

   umbilical cord.

7. a unit of volume used chiefly for fuel wood, now generally equal to 128 cu. ft. (3.6 cu. m), usually specified as 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 4 feet high (2.4 m × 1.2 m × 1.2 meters). cd, cd.

8. a hangman's rope.

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verb (used with object)

• cords,
  present (3rd person singular)
• corded,
  past participle,  past
• cording
  present participle

1. to bind or fasten with a cord or cords.

2. to pile or stack up (wood) in cords.

3. to furnish with a cord.

cord British  

/ kɔːd /

noun

1. string or thin rope made of several twisted strands

2. a length of woven or twisted strands of silk, etc, sewn on clothing or used as a belt

3. a ribbed fabric, esp corduroy

4. any influence that binds or restrains

5. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): flex.  a flexible insulated electric cable, used esp to connect appliances to mains

6. anatomy any part resembling a string or rope

   the spinal cord

7. a unit of volume for measuring cut wood, equal to 128 cubic feet

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verb

1. to bind or furnish with a cord or cords

2. to stack (wood) in cords

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• corder
  noun
• cordlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cords
  plural

Participles

• cording
  present
• corded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• cord
  simple
• cords
  simple
• have corded
  perfect
• has corded
  perfect
• am cording
  progressive
• are cording
  progressive
• is cording
  progressive
• have been cording
  perfect progressive
• has been cording
  perfect progressive

Past

• corded
  simple
• had corded
  perfect
• was cording
  progressive
• were cording
  progressive
• had been cording
  perfect progressive

Future

• will cord
  simple
• will have corded
  perfect
• will be cording
  progressive
• will have been cording
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of cord

1250–1300; Middle English coord ( e ) < Anglo-French, Old French corde < Latin chorda < Greek chordḗ gut; confused in part of its history with chord ¹

Explanation

A cord is a thin rope made of strands of twisted material. You might tie a package with a cord or wear a black cord hung with a silver charm around your neck. Clothing can be decorated with pieces of cord or feature a cord tied like a belt around the waist. Another kind of cord is the electrical kind, which is usually made of plastic. Firewood is measured in units that are also called cords, each one about 128 cubic feet. This type of cord got its name in the 17th century from the way the wood was measured: by tying a length of cord around it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cord cords corded cording

Before her death Lomas raised £925,000 for the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation, external - a charity committed to funding research into curing spinal cord injury.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Recognizable by a subtle sparkly strip hidden inside a collar or on an aglet at the end of a drawstring cord, Cucinelli’s luxury clothing brand employs a muted palette of tans and grays.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Bon Jovi’s “Forever” tour is the first since the namesake frontman had surgery to repair a vocal cord injury in 2022.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Meningitis is the swelling of the meninges, the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

My father, the hardcore pacifist who can’t even squish a spider, reaches for the power cord snaking from the television to the wall socket.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

In 2024, Bon Jovi spoke on a Hulu panel in support of his docuseries “Thank You, Goodnight” and revealed that one of his vocal cords was “atrophying.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

At nearby Fallen Leaf Lake, Margaret Deanesly Ziegler has tried everything to keep bears out of her 1928 summer cabin—mats with nails, electric bungee cords, even a steel door.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Both the deal and the band ended when Taylor developed nodes on his vocal cords, which required him to stay silent for three months.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

"The costs of the products that we are making are being very greatly affected," the 42-year-old said, listing plastic, copper for the vacuum's motor and raw materials in its power cords.

From Barron's ● May 6, 2026

Colin started to explain that even whispering involves the use of the vocal cords, but Hassan just rolled his eyes.

From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green

The most practical option was an old-school corded phone and a cellular-to-landline adapter.

From Slate ● Jan. 27, 2026

She still packs corded earphones for in-flight entertainment systems along with Apple AirPods Pro 3, which she loves for their size and noise-canceling capabilities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025

Even though it’s so cliche, Runyon is convenient, so I will go there, listen to music in my corded headphones and maybe I’ll plan for my podcast that week.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2024

The analysis of corded ware vessels also challenges previous considerations.

From Science Daily ● May 21, 2024

His face was lean and brown and corded as jerky and his old eyes were brown, even the whites were brown and deep set so that they looked out of holes.

From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck

I rescued an abandoned set of chairs missing their woven seats, watched a YouTube video on cording and turned them into living-room fixtures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

An interlocking arch that represents unity gives her walker a sculptural flair, and the cording made out of water hyacinth connects both local artistry with sustainable materials.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 13, 2022

Bubble wrap might crush your standard ribbon bows, so the Container Store suggests using more wire-edged ribbon or tulle, which can be fluffed out, or cording.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 1, 2020

Jewel-toned blue, green and purple nylon was cut into pretty sleeveless dresses slit and ruched with cording detail to softly accent the body.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2016

You was cording a dressing-robe about you as you came in and I see a glimpse of one of your dark suits underneath.

From The Haunted Pajamas by Francis Perry Elliott

Related Words

• fiber
• string
• twine