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

Overshadowing the days before the tournament are thousands of protesting teachers, who have blockaded highways and led the government to cordon off the historic Zocalo square with metal barricades.

From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026

There had been unrest at the location during an initial protest in late May against preparatory onsite work during installation of barbed wire to cordon off the area.

From Barron's • Jun. 6, 2026

Nottinghamshire Police set up a cordon shortly before 15:00 BST on Saturday, after the remains were discovered by members of the public near Rainworth Bypass.

From BBC • May 24, 2026

The kid’s joy is as stratospheric as the plane; he adores everything but the airline’s chicken cordon bleu.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

I look up and see that the members of the Red Cross form a cordon between us and the Director, who is raging at them, his face nearly crimson.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed

Related Words

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