cord
Americannoun
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cords
plural
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a string or thin rope made of several strands braided, twisted, or woven together.
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Electricity. a small, flexible, insulated cable.
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a ribbed fabric, especially corduroy.
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a cordlike rib on the surface of cloth.
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any influence that binds or restrains.
cord of marriage.
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Anatomy. a cordlike structure.
the spinal cord;
umbilical cord.
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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.
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a hangman's rope.
verb (used with object)
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cords,
present (3rd person singular)
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corded,
past participle, past
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cording
present participle
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to bind or fasten with a cord or cords.
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to pile or stack up (wood) in cords.
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to furnish with a cord.
noun
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string or thin rope made of several twisted strands
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a length of woven or twisted strands of silk, etc, sewn on clothing or used as a belt
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a ribbed fabric, esp corduroy
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any influence that binds or restrains
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Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): flex. a flexible insulated electric cable, used esp to connect appliances to mains
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anatomy any part resembling a string or rope
the spinal cord
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a unit of volume for measuring cut wood, equal to 128 cubic feet
verb
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to bind or furnish with a cord or cords
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to stack (wood) in cords
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cordsimple
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cordssimple
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have cordedperfect
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has cordedperfect
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am cordingprogressive
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are cordingprogressive
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is cordingprogressive
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have been cordingperfect progressive
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has been cordingperfect progressive
Past
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cordedsimple
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had cordedperfect
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was cordingprogressive
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were cordingprogressive
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had been cordingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing cord
Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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Commonly Confused Words, List 7
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It bent over, clamped the cord with its pincers and tucked the cord along a shelf to clear a path.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
These included an oval opening where the spinal cord connected to the brain and a distinctive crest shaped like an hourglass.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
Karl ducks into a shop and comes out with a bottle of water, flinging it under a bungee cord attached to his trolley, which he had made in Nicaragua early in the adventure.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Kehn holds the trap’s pull cord in his clenched fist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
She put on the bark cord of mourning and refused to cut her hair anymore.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
Her early symptoms began in 2008 during her Taking Chances World Tour, when she experienced difficulty controlling her voice despite doctors saying her vocal cords appeared normal, she shared with Vogue in 2024.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Room Rater built an audience scoring Zoom backgrounds for lighting, depth, art and visible cords; books themselves became set dressing.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
Inflammation subsided, and the spinal cords regenerated perfectly, even though the neutrophils themselves were no longer present.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 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
Genes, phenotypes, selection, and evolution were bound together by cords of relatively basic laws—but it was easy to imagine that these laws could be misunderstood and distorted.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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
She was directed down another hall, another locked door, before she finally arrived at a stall with a corded phone.
From Slate ● May 2, 2025
The analysis of corded ware vessels also challenges previous considerations.
From Science Daily ● May 21, 2024
The work had been transformed, from an intimate album I’d listened to on an iPod with corded earbuds that didn’t stay put into a lavish stage production with sets, actors, choreography.
From New York Times ● Mar. 23, 2024
Their branches were corded to hold back the glory of their spreading and probably to make shipping easier.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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
Lip cord is a tiny cording that creates a delicate and refined accent.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 18, 2023
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
Plunder therefore, that could be worth packing and cording, there was little or none in Greece.
From The Posthumous Works of Thomas De Quincey, Vol. 2 by Alexander H. (Alexander Hay) Japp
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