cord

plural cords

1. countableA long, thin, flexible length of twisted yarns (strands) of fibre (a rope, for example).

   The burglar tied up the victim with a cord.

   Synonyms: cable, twine

2. uncountableAny quantity of such material when viewed as a mass or commodity.

   cord of spittle

   1 more example

   He looped some cord around his fingers.

   Synonyms: cordage

3. countableuncountableA small flexible electrical conductor composed of wires insulated separately or in bundles and assembled together usually with an outer cover; the electrical cord of a lamp, sweeper ((US) vacuum cleaner), or other appliance.

   Synonyms: cable, flex

4. countableuncountableA unit of measurement for firewood, equal to 128 cubic feet (4 × 4 × 8 feet), composed of logs and/or split logs four feet long and none over eight inches diameter. It is usually seen as a stack four feet high by eight feet long.

   Unerringly impelling this dead, impregnable, uninjurable wall, and this most buoyant thing within; there swims behind it all a mass of tremendous life, only to be adequately estimated as piled wood is—by the cord; and all obedient to one volition, as the smallest insect.

   1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Battering-ram”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 376

   1 more example

   'If they buy three cords of birch logs,' said the witch, 'but they must be exact measure—and no bargaining about the price, and if they throw overboard the one cord of logs, piece by piece, when the first sea comes, and the other cord, piece by piece, when the second sea comes, and the third cord, piece by piece, when the third sea comes, then it's all over with us.'

   1881, P. Chr. Asbjörnsen [i.e., Peter Christen Asbjørnsen], “Mackerel Trolling”, in H. L. Brækstad, transl., Round the Yule Log. Norwegian Folk and Fairy Tales, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, →OCLC, page 187

   1. broadlycollectivecountableuncountableA quantity of firewood or cut logs.
5. countablefigurativelyuncountableAny influence by which persons are caught, held, or drawn, as if by a cord.

   Every detail of the house and garden was familiar; a thousand cords of memory and affection drew him thither; but a stronger counter-motive prevailed.

   1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC

   1 more example

   Clear-headed friend, whose joyful scorn, / Edged with sharp laughter, cuts atwain / The knots that tangle human creeds, / The wounding cords that bind and strain / The heart until it bleeds, […]

   1842, Alfred Tennyson, “To—”, in Poems. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 15

6. countableuncountableanatomyAny structure having the appearance of a cord, especially a tendon or nerve.

   spermatic cord; spinal cord; umbilical cord; vocal cords

   1 more example

   Since spinal cord injury is associated with edema and changes in AQP4 expression, Ge and coworkers investigated the potential antiedema effect of epigallocatechin gallate and its underlying mechanism on a rat model of acute spinal cord injury.

   2015 August 4, Diana Fiorentini et al., “Polyphenols as Modulators of Aquaporin Family in Health and Disease”, in Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, volume 2015, →DOI

7. countabledateduncountableentertainmentDated form of chord.
8. countablemisspellinguncountableMisspelling of chord, a cross-section measurement of an aircraft wing.

present singular third person cords · participle present cording · participle past corded · past corded

1. To furnish with cords.
2. To tie or fasten with cords.
3. To flatten a book during binding.
4. To arrange (wood, etc.) in a pile for measurement by the cord.