cordon

American  

[kawr-dn] / ˈkɔr dn /

noun

• cordons
  plural

1. a line of police, sentinels, military posts, warships, etc., enclosing or guarding an area.

2. a cord or braid worn for ornament or as a fastening.

3. a ribbon worn usually diagonally across the breast as a badge of a knightly or honorary order.

4. Fortification.

   1. a projecting course of stones at the base of a parapet.

   2. the coping of a scarp.

5. Architecture.

   1. a stringcourse, especially one having little or no projection.

   2. a cut-stone riser on a stepped ramp or the like.

6. a fruit tree or shrub trained to grow along a support or a series of such supports.

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verb (used with object)

• cordons,
  present (3rd person singular)
• cordoned,
  past participle,  past
• cordoning
  present participle

1. to surround or blockade with or as with a cordon (usually followed byoff ).

   The police cordoned off the street.

cordon British  

/ ˈkɔːdən /

noun

1. a chain of police, soldiers, ships, etc, stationed around an area

2. a ribbon worn as insignia of honour or rank

3. a cord or ribbon worn as an ornament or fastening

4. Also called: string course.   belt course.   table.  architect an ornamental projecting band or continuous moulding along a wall

5. horticulture a form of fruit tree consisting of a single stem bearing fruiting spurs, produced by cutting back all lateral branches

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verb

1. to put or form a cordon (around); close (off)

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cordons
  plural

Participles

• cordoning
  present
• cordoned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• cordon
  simple
• cordons
  simple
• have cordoned
  perfect
• has cordoned
  perfect
• am cordoning
  progressive
• are cordoning
  progressive
• is cordoning
  progressive
• have been cordoning
  perfect progressive
• has been cordoning
  perfect progressive

Past

• cordoned
  simple
• had cordoned
  perfect
• was cordoning
  progressive
• were cordoning
  progressive
• had been cordoning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will cordon
  simple
• will have cordoned
  perfect
• will be cordoning
  progressive
• will have been cordoning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of cordon

1400–50; Middle English < Middle French, diminutive of corde

Explanation

That yellow police tape and group of officers encircling the crime scene? That's a kind of cordon — something set up to guard something. A cordon can also mean some kind of ornament or adornment made out of ribbon or cord, usually worn by military folks to signify honor or rank. Not surprising since cordon sounds similar to cord and comes from the Old French word for the same thing. But unless you're part of a security team or often dressed in full military regalia, you probably won't come into contact with cordons very often.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cordon cordons cordoned cordoning

A police cordon remained in place in the woodland on Sunday, and officers were in the area carrying out inquiries and providing reassurance.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

The cordon surrounds the scene, which is close to the fishing lake, and two camping tents - one of which is white with a navy blue trim - have been pitched.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

A large police presence was seen on the street on Friday, which was sealed off behind a cordon.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

A cordon remains in place around properties in the area.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

It would seem almost as though there were a cordon drawn round the upper part of these great peaks beyond which no man may go.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Officers set up cordons on surrounding roads to prevent people from heading to the coast.

From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026

At the scene, several police cordons were deployed at various locations inside and outside the station, according to images published by local media.

From Barron's ● May 28, 2026

Members of the public have been asked to avoid the area, with cordons in place.

From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026

"Sadly, incidents of disturbance still occurred despite the presence of volunteers, police and statutory body staff as a small minority of people wilfully ignored cordons and direct advice on watching respectfully," a spokesperson said.

From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2026

This part of the treatment becomes of prime importance in dealing with cordons and espaliers.

From Dwarf Fruit Trees Their propagation, pruning, and general management, adapted to the United States and Canada by F. A. Waugh

Large chunks of concrete could be seen scattered around and inside the collapsed area, while orange traffic cones cordoned off the site as workers surveyed the damage.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

Social media videos from the scene appear to show crowds gathering around police cars and ambulances, where a large area is cordoned off.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Plainclothes officers cordoned off Zhu’s ancestral home in the landlocked Hunan province and turned away visitors who came to lay flowers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

The force had said there was "no threat to the public", but the area was cordoned off as a precaution.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Our area is cordoned off with a silky twisted scarlet rope, like the kind they used to have in movie theaters to restrain the customers.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

Security was tight for the visit, with Berlin cordoning off flag-lined streets and deploying large numbers of police.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

The key is ‘alignment,’ which improves capability while cordoning off dangerous knowledge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Some even made pilgrimages to the isolated ranch, hovering outside yellow and red police tape cordoning off the site.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2025

That velvet rope wasn’t cordoning off anything but wishes and dreams.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2023

Video from the area appears to show heavily armed police cordoning off a commercial property in the area.

From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2023

Related Words

• identification
• insignia
• marker
• medallion
• pin
• ribbon
• stamp
• symbol
• token