cordon
Americannoun
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a line of police, sentinels, military posts, warships, etc., enclosing or guarding an area.
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a cord or braid worn for ornament or as a fastening.
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a ribbon worn usually diagonally across the breast as a badge of a knightly or honorary order.
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Fortification.
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a projecting course of stones at the base of a parapet.
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the coping of a scarp.
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Architecture.
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a stringcourse, especially one having little or no projection.
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a cut-stone riser on a stepped ramp or the like.
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a fruit tree or shrub trained to grow along a support or a series of such supports.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a chain of police, soldiers, ships, etc, stationed around an area
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a ribbon worn as insignia of honour or rank
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a cord or ribbon worn as an ornament or fastening
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Also called: string course. belt course. table. architect an ornamental projecting band or continuous moulding along a wall
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horticulture a form of fruit tree consisting of a single stem bearing fruiting spurs, produced by cutting back all lateral branches
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cordonsimple
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cordonssimple
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have cordonedperfect
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has cordonedperfect
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am cordoningprogressive
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are cordoningprogressive
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is cordoningprogressive
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have been cordoningperfect progressive
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has been cordoningperfect progressive
Past
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cordonedsimple
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had cordonedperfect
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was cordoningprogressive
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were cordoningprogressive
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had been cordoningperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing cordon
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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:
Yellow police tape was used to cordon off the gas station.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
A strict cordon remains in place and people have been warned not to travel to the area or attempt to access Glenmore Forest Park, Loch Morlich or the surrounding area while firefighting operations are ongoing.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Crowds of onlookers stood near buildings teetering on collapse with police officials doing little to cordon off the area.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Another video shows a heavy police presence and cordon around the Your Move estate agent, where paramedics are giving medical treatment to a clothed man on the ground who has his arm in a sling.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026
If necessary, when the chase came too close, he could charge the cordon while it was still thin, burst through, and run back.
From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
"Additional police resources are being deployed to assist in contacting those who need to leave their properties and to maintain cordons around restricted areas while our fire service colleagues continue to tackle the wildfire."
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
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
"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
Besides the bush plums, the garden contains a row of upright cordons.
From Dwarf Fruit Trees Their propagation, pruning, and general management, adapted to the United States and Canada by Waugh, F. A.
When she got home four hours later, the house was cordoned off with police tape, with officers guarding the door.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
An AFP photographer at the scene saw a heavy police presence with access to the area cordoned off, while a helicopter circled overhead.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
That week, downtown Seattle was cordoned off because protestors had taken over the streets surrounding the convention center, and some activists had broken the windows of a Starbucks nearby.
From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2026
Jonathan’s lawyers said the footprint is inadmissible because the path was “never cordoned off and therefore contaminated,” making the mark “unsuitable as the subject of forensic-scientific examination.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
Green gunk dribbled out of the fountain, and they'd cordoned off the arch with warning signs.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
The key is ‘alignment,’ which improves capability while cordoning off dangerous knowledge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Some blame the app for not providing accurate information while others argue that it is a larger failure on the part of the government for not cordoning off the place.
From BBC ● Nov. 28, 2024
Immediately after Cox was fired and Richardson and Ruckelshaus had resigned, Nixon’s chief of staff, Alexander M. Haig, ordered the cordoning off of all three of their offices.
From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2024
Police arrived soon after, urging visitors to disperse as they began cordoning off the street.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2023
With police cordoning off the area, he hadn’t been able to get in for days.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2023
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.
