corduroy

1 of 2

noun

cor·du·roy ˈkȯr-də-ˌrȯi

plural corduroys

corduroys plural : trousers of corduroy fabric

: a durable usually cotton pile fabric with vertical ribs or wales

: 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

Example Sentences

Noun a jacket made of corduroy

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Classic corduroy trousers are to be expected, and these options from Citizens of Humanity, Mother Denim, and Veronica Beard fit the bill. —

Laura Jackson, Vogue, 2 Nov. 2022 Sabrina dressed in a black hoodie and sweatpants, while Shawn wore a denim jacket, white tee, and corduroy pants. —

Leah Campano, Seventeen, 28 Feb. 2023 These velvety-soft corduroy cords are seriously stylish, especially when dressed up with a silky tie-neck blouse and a pair of cool pointed-toe booties. —

Corinne Sullivan, Woman's Day, 24 Oct. 2022 He’s drawn a diamond in the corduroy with his ski pole and is tapping at its top point. —

Washington Post, 12 Nov. 2021 In olive green corduroy!). —

Leah Melby Clinton, Harper's BAZAAR, 10 Feb. 2023 The works produced during this period are unique both in their color palette and their use of of corduroy, considered an atypical fabric for quilting. —

Jeanine Hays And Bryan Mason, House Beautiful, 20 Sep. 2021 The actor, who directed, produced, and also plays the sportswear company’s cofounder Phil Knight in the film, showed up to the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles sporting a navy corduroy Thom Sweeney suit. —

Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 28 Mar. 2023 The style star wore a black corduroy jacket closed over a green top, finishing the outfit with a pair of baggy low-rise khaki pants and bright yellow sneakers. —

Quinci Legardye, Harper's BAZAAR, 18 Mar. 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 See More

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.