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In ancient times, a cohort was a military unit, one of ten divisions in a Roman legion. The term passed into English in the 15th century, when it was used in translations and writings about Roman history. Once cohort became established in our language, its meaning was extended, first to refer to any body of troops, then to any group of individuals with something in common (as in “a cohort of law students” or “a cohort of people who were born in the same year”), and later to a single companion. Some writers on usage have objected to this last sense because it can be hard to tell whether the plural refers to different individuals or different groups. The “companion” sense is well established in standard use, however, and its meaning is clear enough in such sentences as “her cohorts came along with her to the game.”
Examples of cohort in a Sentence
Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 3 June 2026
The market-wide implications of any broad, deep correction in profoundly overbought semi stocks center around their linchpin role in the high-beta/high-momentum cohort.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 2 June 2026
Although the program primarily focuses on technical roles, cohorts receive a variety of training aligned within their field of studies.
—Brandi Bufford, USA Today, 2 June 2026
Eidra and her cohort were CIA, not diplomats.
—Debora Cahn, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for cohort
Cite this Entry
“Cohort.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cohort. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cohort
noun
Medical Definition
cohort
noun
R. R. Suskind et al.
