corduroy

1 of 2

noun

cor·​du·​roy ˈkȯr-də-ˌrȯi How to pronounce corduroy (audio)
plural corduroys
1
a
corduroys plural : trousers of corduroy fabric
b
: a durable usually cotton pile fabric with vertical ribs or wales
2
: logs laid side by side transversely to make a road surface

corduroy

2 of 2

verb

corduroyed; corduroying

transitive verb

: to build (a road) of logs laid side by side transversely
also : to build a corduroy road across

Examples of corduroy in a Sentence

Noun a jacket made of corduroy
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Underneath the taupe canvas jacket with a corduroy collar, Bieber wore a cropped white shirt. Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 13 Mar. 2024 Oddly, on Sunday, Swift’s A-list bestie Blake Lively posted a photo of hubby Ryan Reynolds wearing a corduroy plaid jacket that Swift’s beau Travis Kelce has been seen in. Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 26 Feb. 2024 Dressed in corduroy overalls and a white T-shirt, the toddler plays with a toy as a flash of his red hair can be seen under the hat. Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 23 Feb. 2024 Here, Nicole Phelps, global director of Vogue Runway and Vogue Business, pairs a wool plaid coat with corduroy trousers. Alexis Bennett Parker, Vogue, 23 Feb. 2024 Wale Watching The soft pile of corduroy is cozier than jeans. Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 6 Feb. 2024 The couple rested between tours on their ranch in Covina, and Goldthwaite, dressed in khaki or corduroy, often spoke to the local farmers’ club — not just about farming but in passionate endorsement of women’s suffrage. Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2024 This corduroy design is perfect for those transitional months as it can be teamed with leggings or jeans for the spring and worn bare-legged with sandals for the summer. Kat Romero, Rolling Stone, 31 Jan. 2024 For 2024, preppy design is coming back in a big way, bringing corduroy and plaid along with it. Sharon Greenthal, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 Dec. 2023
Verb
The trick is finding the right color: lean in to corduroy's '70s feeling with rich cognac, or play the part of the refined Italian guy with a dusty green. Megan Gustashaw, GQ, 9 Jan. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'corduroy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

of obscure origin

Note: In the 18th century a name for a kind of coarse, thick-ribbed cotton fabric. It has been hypothesized that the word is a compound of cord as the name for a fabric and duroy, a coarse woolen fabric, but cord in this sense does not appear to be earlier than corduroy. Advertisements in the 1774 numbers of the Boston Gazette and Country Journal have cord, corduroy, duroy, as well as cordesoy and cordusoy (perhaps by association with padusoy, variant of paduasoy) in lists of fabrics for sale. The notion that corduroy is from French corde du roi, "king's cord," is fanciful.

Verb

derivative of corduroy entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1791, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1854, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of corduroy was circa 1791

Dictionary Entries Near corduroy

Cite this Entry

“Corduroy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/corduroy. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

corduroy

noun
cor·​du·​roy
ˈkȯrd-ə-ˌrȯi
plural corduroys
1
a
: a strong ribbed usually cotton cloth
b
plural : pants of corduroy
2
: a road built of logs laid side by side

More from Merriam-Webster on corduroy

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