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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

core.

In general usage, an essential part of a thing surrounded by other essential things.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/kɔː/Received-Pronunciation/kɔɹ/General-American[kʰo̞ɹ]General-American/ko(ː)ɹ/
  1. In general usage, an essential part of a thing surrounded by other essential things. The central part of a fruit, containing the kernels or seeds.

    countable · uncountable
    the core of an apple or quince
  2. In general usage, an essential part of a thing surrounded by other essential things. The heart or inner part of a physical thing.

    countable · uncountable
  3. In general usage, an essential part of a thing surrounded by other essential things. The anatomical core, muscles which bridge abdomen and thorax.

    countable · uncountable
  4. In general usage, an essential part of a thing surrounded by other essential things. The center or inner part of a space or area.

    countable · uncountable
  5. The most important part of a thing or aggregate of things wherever located and whether of any determinate location at all; the essence.

    countable · uncountable
    the core of a subject
  6. The most important part of a thing or aggregate of things wherever located and whether of any determinate location at all; the essence. A technical term for classification of things denoting those parts of a category that are most easily or most likely understood as within it. The main and most diverse monophyletic group within a clade or taxonomic group.

    countable · uncountable
  7. The most important part of a thing or aggregate of things wherever located and whether of any determinate location at all; the essence. A technical term for classification of things denoting those parts of a category that are most easily or most likely understood as within it. The set of feasible allocations that cannot be improved upon by a subset (a coalition) of the economy's agents.

    countable · uncountable
  8. The most important part of a thing or aggregate of things wherever located and whether of any determinate location at all; the essence. A thematic aesthetic; objects related to a specific topic

    countable · uncountable
    Photographs of cottagecore focuses on countrysides or forests.
  9. particular parts of technical instruments or machines essential in function: The portion of a mold that creates a cavity or impression within the part (casting or molded part) or that makes a hole in or through the part.

    countable · uncountable
  10. particular parts of technical instruments or machines essential in function: Ellipsis of core memory (“magnetic data storage”).

    abbreviation · alt-of · countable · ellipsis · historical · informal · uncountable
  11. particular parts of technical instruments or machines essential in function: An individual computer processor, in the sense when several processors (called cores or CPU cores) are plugged together in one single integrated circuit to work as one (called a multi-core processor).

    countable · uncountable
    I wanted to play a particular computer game, which required I buy a new computer, so while the game said it needed at least a dual-core processor, I wanted my computer to be a bit ahead of the curve, so I bought a quad-core.
  12. particular parts of technical instruments or machines essential in function: The material between surface materials in a structured composite sandwich material.

    countable · uncountable
    a floor panel with a Nomex honeycomb core
  13. particular parts of technical instruments or machines essential in function: The inner part of a nuclear reactor, in which the nuclear reaction takes place.

    countable · uncountable
  14. particular parts of technical instruments or machines essential in function: The central fissile portion of a fission weapon.

    countable · uncountable
    In a hollow-core design, neutrons escape from the core more readily, allowing more fissile material to be used (and thus allowing for a greater yield) while still keeping the core subcritical prior to detonation.
  15. particular parts of technical instruments or machines essential in function: A piece of ferromagnetic material (e.g., soft iron), inside the windings of an electromagnet, that channels the magnetic field.

    countable · uncountable
  16. particular parts of technical instruments or machines essential in function: A hollow cylindrical piece of cardboard around which a web of paper or plastic is wound.

    countable · uncountable
  17. Hence particular parts of a subject studied or examined by technical operations, likened by position and practical or structural robustness to kernels, cores in the general sense above. A tiny sample of organic material obtained by means of a fine-needle biopsy.

    countable · uncountable
  18. Hence particular parts of a subject studied or examined by technical operations, likened by position and practical or structural robustness to kernels, cores in the general sense above. The bony process which forms the central axis of the horns in many animals.

    countable · uncountable
  19. Hence particular parts of a subject studied or examined by technical operations, likened by position and practical or structural robustness to kernels, cores in the general sense above. A disorder of sheep caused by worms in the liver.

    countable · uncountable
  20. Hence particular parts of a subject studied or examined by technical operations, likened by position and practical or structural robustness to kernels, cores in the general sense above. The central part of a protein's structure, consisting mostly of hydrophobic amino acids.

    countable · uncountable
  21. Hence particular parts of a subject studied or examined by technical operations, likened by position and practical or structural robustness to kernels, cores in the general sense above. A cylindrical sample of rock or other materials obtained by core drilling.

    countable · uncountable
  22. Hence particular parts of a subject studied or examined by technical operations, likened by position and practical or structural robustness to kernels, cores in the general sense above. An atomic nucleus plus inner electrons (i.e., an atom, except for its valence electrons).

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English core, kore, coor (“apple-core, pith”), of obscure and uncertain origin. Possibly of native English origin, from Old English *cor, related to Old English *coruc, *corc (diminutive) (> Middle English cork, crok (“core of an apple or other fruit, heart of an onion”)) and Old English corn (“seed", also "grain”); or alternatively perhaps from Old French cuer (“heart”), from Latin cor (“heart”); or from Old French cors (“body”), from Latin corpus (“body”). Compare also Middle English colk, coke, coll (“the heart or centre of an apple or onion, core”), Dutch kern (“core”), German Kern (“core”). See also heart, corpse. Compare typologically Russian серде́чник (serdéčnik), сердцеви́на (serdcevína)) (akin to се́рдце (sérdce), cognate with heart, Latin cor).

adj/kɔː/Received-Pronunciation/kɔɹ/General-American[kʰo̞ɹ]General-American/ko(ː)ɹ/
  1. Forming the most important or essential part.

    not-comparable
  2. Deeply and authentically involved in the culture surrounding the sport.

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English core, kore, coor (“apple-core, pith”), of obscure and uncertain origin. Possibly of native English origin, from Old English *cor, related to Old English *coruc, *corc (diminutive) (> Middle English cork, crok (“core of an apple or other fruit, heart of an onion”)) and Old English corn (“seed", also "grain”); or alternatively perhaps from Old French cuer (“heart”), from Latin cor (“heart”); or from Old French cors (“body”), from Latin corpus (“body”). Compare also Middle English colk, coke, coll (“the heart or centre of an apple or onion, core”), Dutch kern (“core”), German Kern (“core”). See also heart, corpse. Compare typologically Russian серде́чник (serdéčnik), сердцеви́на (serdcevína)) (akin to се́рдце (sérdce), cognate with heart, Latin cor).

verb/kɔː/Received-Pronunciation/kɔɹ/General-American[kʰo̞ɹ]General-American/ko(ː)ɹ/
  1. To remove the core of an apple or other fruit.

  2. To cut or drill through the core of (something).

  3. To extract a sample with a drill.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English core, kore, coor (“apple-core, pith”), of obscure and uncertain origin. Possibly of native English origin, from Old English *cor, related to Old English *coruc, *corc (diminutive) (> Middle English cork, crok (“core of an apple or other fruit, heart of an onion”)) and Old English corn (“seed", also "grain”); or alternatively perhaps from Old French cuer (“heart”), from Latin cor (“heart”); or from Old French cors (“body”), from Latin corpus (“body”). Compare also Middle English colk, coke, coll (“the heart or centre of an apple or onion, core”), Dutch kern (“core”), German Kern (“core”). See also heart, corpse. Compare typologically Russian серде́чник (serdéčnik), сердцеви́на (serdcevína)) (akin to се́рдце (sérdce), cognate with heart, Latin cor).

noun/kɔː/Received-Pronunciation/kɔɹ/General-American[kʰo̞ɹ]General-American/ko(ː)ɹ/
  1. A body of individuals; an assemblage.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

See corps.

noun/kɔː/Received-Pronunciation/kɔɹ/General-American[kʰo̞ɹ]General-American/ko(ː)ɹ/
  1. A miner's underground working time or shift.

Where this word comes from

See chore.

noun/kɔː/Received-Pronunciation/kɔɹ/General-American[kʰo̞ɹ]General-American/ko(ː)ɹ/
  1. A deposit paid by the purchaser of a rebuilt part, to be refunded on return of a used, rebuildable part, or the returned rebuildable part itself.

Where this word comes from

Possibly an acronym for cash on return.

noun/kɔː/Received-Pronunciation/kɔɹ/General-American[kʰo̞ɹ]General-American/ko(ː)ɹ/
  1. An aesthetic ending in the suffix -core, such as cottagecore, normcore, etc.

    neologism
Where this word comes from

From -core, ultimately from Etymology 1.

noun/kɔː/Received-Pronunciation/kɔɹ/General-American[kʰo̞ɹ]General-American/ko(ː)ɹ/
  1. Alternative form of cor: a former Hebrew and Phoenician unit of volume.

    alt-of · alternative · historical
Where this word comes from

From Biblical Hebrew כֹּר (kōr).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.