cork

plural corks

1. uncountablebiologyThe dead protective tissue between the bark and cambium in woody plants, with suberin deposits making it impervious to gasses and water.

   Synonyms: phellem

   1. countableuncountablebiologyThe phellem of the cork oak, used for making bottle stoppers, flotation devices, and insulation material.

      Because cork is porous, it expands and contracts with changes in humidity.

      1980, Robert M. Jones, editor, Walls and Ceilings, Time-Life Books, →ISBN, page 48

      1 more example

      I confess my confidence was shaken by these actions, though I knew well enough that his leg was no more cork than my own

      1908, Edwin George Pinkham, Fate's a fiddler, page 108

      Synonyms: phellem

2. countableuncountableA bottle stopper made from this or any other material.

   Snobs feel it's hard to call it wine with a straight face when the cork is made of plastic.

3. countableuncountableAn angling float, also traditionally made of oak cork.
4. countableuncountableThe cork oak, Quercus suber.

present singular third person corks · participle present corking · participle past corked · past corked

1. transitiveTo seal or stop up, especially with a cork stopper.

   1 more example

   2014, Paul Salopek, Blessed. Cursed. Claimed., National Geographic (December 2014)https://web.archive.org/web/20150212214621/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/pilgrim-roads/salopek-text Arms draped on shoulders, kick-stepping in circles, they swing bottles of wine. Purpled thumbs cork the bottles. The wine leaps and jumps behind green glass.

2. transitiveTo blacken (as) with a burnt cork.
3. To leave the cork in a bottle after attempting to uncork it.
4. To fill with cork.
   1. transitiveball gamesTo tamper with (a bat) by drilling out part of the head and filling the cavity with cork or similar light, compressible material.

      He corked his bat, which was discovered when it broke, causing a controversy.

      1 more example

      Apparently I used to have some good power even though I was little, but the team we were playing against thought I had corked the bat. I kid you not! They paid $200 to have the bat popped off to prove they were right.

      2012, Kevin Neary, Leigh A. Tobin, Major League Dads

5. AustraliatransitiveTo injure through a blow; to induce a haematoma.

   The vicious tackle corked his leg.

   5 more examples

   Injuries, which seemed to be of an inconsequential nature, were often sustained, such as a sprained ankle, a dislocated phalanx, a twisted foot, a corked leg and so on.

   2006, Joseph N. Santamaria, The Education of Dr Joe, page 60

   As he moved away again, William winced at an ache in his thigh. ‘Must have corked my leg when I got up,’ he thought.

   2007, Shaun A. Saunders, Navigating in the New World, page 202

   “I′m okay. I must have corked my thigh when Bruce fell onto me. I′ll be fine.”

   2008, Christopher J. Holcroft, Canyon, page 93

   2010, Andrew Stojanovski, Dog Ear Cafe, large print 16pt, page 191, Much to my relief he had only corked his leg when he had jumped.

   I corked my thigh late in the game, which we won, and came off.

   2010, Ben Cousins, Ben Cousins: My Life Story, page 108

6. fishingTo position one's drift net just outside of another person's net, thereby intercepting and catching all the fish that would have gone into that person's net.

   Kate remembered then, the family fish camp a mile or so up Amartuq Creek, the very creek across the mouth of which Yuri Andreev had tried to cork Joe Anahonak not half an hour before.

   1998, Dana Stabenow, Killing Grounds, →ISBN, page 8

   2 more examples

   But its soon apparent that there are more boats than fish—at least for the moment. We all drift quietly, keeping an eye out for other boats and other nets. Corking another guy's net is a screaming—bastard offense.

   2003, George Lowe, Fisherman: The Strife and Times of Ronald K. Peterson of Ballard, →ISBN

   You're pissed if someone sets too close to you and especially if he sets his net right along yours, "corking" you and intercepting the fish that seem headed to your own net. I was close to this guy's outside net, but definitely not corking him.

   2008, Bert Bender, Catching the Ebb: Drift-fishing for a Life in Cook Inlet, →ISBN, page 249

7. transitiveTo block (a street) illegally, to allow a protest or other activity to take place without traffic.

   […] corking the streets is a challenge to capitalist ideologies, like skateboarding in parking lots and walkways […]

   2022, Victoria A. Newsom, Lara Martin Lengel, Embodied Activisms, page 70

plural corks

1. hobbiesAn aerialist maneuver involving a rotation where the rider goes heels over head, with the board overhead.

present singular third person corks · participle present corking · participle past corked · past corked

1. hobbiesTo perform such a maneuver.

1. not comparablehobbiesHaving the property of a head over heels rotation.

1. The principal city of County Cork, Ireland.
2. A county in the Republic of Ireland (County Cork).