cord Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a line made of twisted fibers or threads
    • the bundle was tied with a cord
  2. noun a unit of amount of wood cut for burning; 128 cubic feet
  3. noun a light insulated conductor for household use
    electric cord.
  4. noun a cut pile fabric with vertical ribs; usually made of cotton
    corduroy.
  5. verb stack in cords
    • cord firewood
  6. verb bind or tie with a cord

WordNet

Cord noun
Etymology
F. corde, L. chorda catgut, chord, cord, fr. Gr. cf. intestines, L. haruspex soothsayer (inspector of entrails), Icel. görn, pl. garnir gut, and E. yarn. Cf. Chord, Yarn.
Definitions
  1. A string, or small rope, composed of several strands twisted together.
  2. A solid measure, equivalent to 128 cubic feet; a pile of wood, or other coarse material, eight feet long, four feet high, and four feet broad; -- originally measured with a cord or line.
  3. Fig.: Any moral influence by which persons are caught, held, or drawn, as if by a cord; an enticement; as, the cords of the wicked; the cords of sin; the cords of vanity.
    The knots that tangle human creeds, The wounding cords that bind and strain The heart until it bleeds. Tennyson.
  4. (Anat.) Any structure having the appearance of a cord, esp. a tendon or a nerve. See under Spermatic, Spinal, Umbilical, Vocal.
  5. (Mus.) See Chord. Obs.
Cord transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Corded; present participle & verbal noun Cording
Definitions
  1. To bind with a cord; to fasten with cords; to connect with cords; to ornament or finish with a cord or cords, as a garment.
  2. To arrange (wood, etc.) in a pile for measurement by the cord.

Webster 1913