corps
Americannoun
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Military.
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a military organization consisting of officers and enlisted personnel or of officers alone: corps of cadets.
the U.S. Marine Corps;
corps of cadets.
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Also called army corps. a military unit of ground combat forces consisting of two or more divisions and other troops.
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a group of persons associated or acting together.
the diplomatic corps;
the press corps.
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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.
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Obsolete. corpse.
noun
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a military formation that comprises two or more divisions and additional support arms
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a military body with a specific function
intelligence corps
medical corps
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a body of people associated together
the diplomatic corps
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of corps
First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English corps, cors, from Middle French, from Latin corpus “body”; see also corpse
Explanation
A corps is an army unit consisting of at least two divisions. This word can also refer to other groups of people, like a press corps, which is a gang of journalists trying to get the scoop. Although the word corps comes from the Latin corpus, for “body,” don’t pronounce the p or you’re talking about the kind of body that goes in a coffin. The main meaning of a corps (which is singular despite the s) is a unit of the army. The word applies to other groups, too. A law firm has a corps of lawyers, a doctor has a corps of nurses, and a tiny car could have a corps of clowns.
Vocabulary lists containing corps
Body Language: Corp ("Body")
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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.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ordered all ships via radio to avoid the area, the German publication Bild reported Friday, citing unconfirmed reports.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 19, 2026
He asked the court to rule in the case of a Pakistani native who was investigated by the FBI for his suspected ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2026
US Marine Corps plans for a crisis-ready stockpile in Australia are part of a "growing US footprint" in the country and important for national security, Defence Minister Richard Marles said Wednesday.
From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026
Khamanei and his advisers were replaced rapidly, by his son Mojtaba as supreme leader and by a younger generation of commanders, dominated by senior leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
From BBC • Jun. 15, 2026
The mess hall, gracefully festooned with flowers, streamers, and brightly colored ribbons, pulsed with celebration as the pilots and their wives gathered for the 187th birthday of the Marine Corps.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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.
