core

¹core

noun, often attributive \ˈkȯr\

Definition of CORE

1

: a central and often foundational part usually distinct from the enveloping part by a difference in nature <the core of the city>: as

a : the usually inedible central part of some fruits (as a pineapple); especially : the papery or leathery carpels composing the ripened ovary in a pome fruit (as an apple)

b : the portion of a foundry mold that shapes the interior of a hollow casting

c : a vertical space (as for elevator shafts, stairways, or plumbing apparatus) in a multistory building

d (1) : a mass of iron serving to concentrate and intensify the magnetic field resulting from a current in a surrounding coil (2) : a tiny doughnut-shaped piece of magnetic material (as ferrite) used in computer memories (3) : a computer memory consisting of an array of cores strung on fine wires; broadly : the internal memory of a computer

e : the central part of a celestial body (as the earth or sun) usually having different physical properties from the surrounding parts

f : a nodule of stone (as flint or obsidian) from which flakes have been struck for making implements

g : the conducting wire with its insulation in an electric cable

h : an arrangement of a course of studies that combines under basic topics material from subjects conventionally separated and aims to provide a common background for all students <core curriculum>

i : the place in a nuclear reactor where fission occurs

2

a : a basic, essential, or enduring part (as of an individual, a class, or an entity) <the staff had a core of experts> <the core of her beliefs>

b : the essential meaning : gist <the core of the argument>

c : the inmost or most intimate part <honest to the core>

3

: a part (as a thin cylinder of material) removed from the interior of a mass especially to determine composition

Origin of CORE

Middle English

First Known Use: 14th century

Other Archaeology Terms

Attic, Byzantine, Paleolithic, cairn, flint, horizon, neolithic, shard, stratum

Rhymes with CORE

boar, Boer, bore, chore, cor, corps, crore, door, floor, for, fore, four, frore, gore, Gore, hoar, lore, mor, more, nor, o'er, oar, or, ore, poor, pore, pour, roar, score, shore, snore, soar, sore, splore, spoor, spore, store, Thor, tor, torr, war, whore, yore, your

²core

transitive verb

coredcor·ing

Definition of CORE

: to remove a core from <core an apple>

— cor·er noun

First Known Use of CORE

15th century

³core

noun

Definition of CORE

chiefly Scottish

: a group of people

Origin of CORE

perhaps alteration of Middle English chore chorus, company, perhaps from Latin chorus

First Known Use: 1622

CORE

abbreviation

Definition of CORE

Congress of Racial Equality

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

core

noun \ˈkō(ə)r, ˈkȯ(ə)r\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of CORE

: the central part of a body, mass, or part

core

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

In earth science, the part of the Earth that starts about 1,800 mi (2,900 km) beneath the surface and extends downward. It consists largely of an iron-rich metallic alloy and is thought to have a two-part structure: an outer fluid region and a solid, extremely dense inner region that measures only about 1,500 mi (2,400 km) across. The alloy composition is mainly iron with small amounts of nickel. This composition is deduced from the chemistry of iron meteorites that presumably came from the breakup of a planetary body that also had an iron core. See also crust; mantle.