cord

UK: /ˈkɔː^rd/ US: /kɔrd/ ,(kôrd)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

cord /kɔrd/   n. 

1. Textiles a string made of several strands braided, twisted, or woven together:
   [countable] The cords were wrapped tightly around the trunk.
   [uncountable] He found some cord and tied up the packages.
2. Electricity a small, flexible, electrical cable covered with rubber for protection:
   [countable] I kept getting tangled up in the electric cord while vacuuming.
   [uncountable] How many yards of cord will we need?
3. Clothing cords, [plural] clothing, as trousers, made of fabric with cordlike strips, esp. corduroy.
4. Anatomy a cordlike structure of the body:
   [countable] the spinal cord.
5. Weights and Measures [countable] a unit of volume used chiefly for fuel wood, measuring 8 ft. long, 4 ft. wide, and 4 ft. high (2.4 m × 1.2 m × 1.2 m).

-cord-, root. 

1. -cord- comes from Latin, where it has the meaning "heart.'' This meaning is found in such words as: accord, concord, concordance, cordial, discord.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

cord  (kôrd), n. 

1. Textiles a string or thin rope made of several strands braided, twisted, or woven together.
2. Electricity a small, flexible, insulated cable.
3. Textiles a ribbed fabric, esp. corduroy.
4. Textiles a cordlike rib on the surface of cloth.
5. any influence that binds or restrains:
   cord of marriage.
6. Anatomy a cordlike structure:
   the spinal cord; umbilical cord.
7. Weights and Measures a unit of volume used chiefly for fuel wood, now generally equal to 128 cu. ft. (3.6 cu. m), usually specified as 8 ft. long, 4 ft. wide, and 4 ft. high (2.4 m × 1.2 m × 1.2 m). Abbr.: cd, cd.
8. a hangman's rope.

v.t. 

9. to bind or fasten with a cord or cords.
10. to pile or stack up (wood) in cords.
11. to furnish with a cord.

• Greek chordé̄ gut; confused in part of its history with chord¹
• Latin chorda
• Anglo-French, Old French corde
• Middle English coord(e) 1250–1300

cord′er, n. 
cord′like′, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

cord / kɔːd/ noun

1. string or thin rope made of several twisted strands
2. a length of woven or twisted strands of silk, etc, sewn on clothing or used as a belt
3. a ribbed fabric, esp corduroy
4. a flexible insulated electric cable, used esp to connect appliances to mains
   Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): flex
5. any part resembling a string or rope: the spinal cord
6. a unit of volume for measuring cut wood, equal to 128 cubic feet

verb (transitive)

1. to bind or furnish with a cord or cords

Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French corde, from Latin chorda cord, from Greek khordē; see chord¹

ˈcordˌlike adjective