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Synonyms

corps

American  
[kawr] / kɔr /

noun

plural

corps

  1. Military.

    1. a military organization consisting of officers and enlisted personnel or of officers alone: corps of cadets.

      the U.S. Marine Corps;

      corps of cadets.

    2. Also called army corps.  a military unit of ground combat forces consisting of two or more divisions and other troops.

  2. a group of persons associated or acting together.

    the diplomatic corps;

    the press corps.
    Synonyms:
    band, crew, force, team

  3. Printing. a Continental designation that, preceded by a number, indicates size of type in Didot points of 0.0148 inch (3.8 millimeters).

    14 corps.

  4. Obsolete. corpse.

corps British  
/ kɔː /

noun

  1. a military formation that comprises two or more divisions and additional support arms

  2. a military body with a specific function

    intelligence corps

    medical corps

  3. a body of people associated together

    the diplomatic corps
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of corps

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English corps, cors, from Middle French, from Latin corpus “body”; corpse

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.

The press corps headed outside, where clouds that had threatened to cancel the launch had evaporated.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

Hansen is a military pilot who joined Canada’s astronaut corps in 2009.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

By 1908, Wilhelm’s attitude toward the U.S. was more benevolent, and he offered President Theodore Roosevelt an elite corps of Prussian soldiers to be posted in California, supposedly to fend off a Japanese invasion.

From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026

Linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips, another important part of the Chargers’ special teams corps, is returning on a two-year, $7.5-million deal, NFL Media reported.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

His corps of generals and provincial governors was filled with ambitious men with access to manpower and vast amounts of cash.

From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.