COGS Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

cogs

noun

plural of cog

as in underlings

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cogs

Noun

His Picard is authoritative, with none of the friendly push and pull with his underlings that Kirk had.

— Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026
His underlings kidnapped and tortured a dealer who refused to pay, the indictment said.

— Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of underlings

Noun

Today, that model is shifting as personal AI assistants fundamentally alter how consumers discover products and make buying decisions.

— Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 2 Nov. 2026
Rather than simply responding to individual prompts, the next generation of coding assistants is expected to manage longer workflows, react to new information and coordinate multiple operations with limited intervention.

— Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 1 Nov. 2026

Definition of assistants

Noun

No matter how powerful, dictators have always needed subordinates—censors, propagandists, security guards, police officers, intelligence analysts, and local bureaucrats—to carry out their orders.

— Seva Gunitsky, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026
Investigators have accused one of his subordinates of running a fraud scheme, though Kravchenko himself has not been charged or named a suspect.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of subordinates

Noun

According to local media reports, employees in Area A, where the laboratory is located, were instructed to shelter in place for approximately 30 minutes.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 29 Oct. 2026
For perspective, 41% goes to coverage of other brand-name specialty drugs taken by 6,500 employees.

— Ben Smith, semafor.com, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of employees

Noun

Surrounding yourself with a bunch of yes-men is not a recipe for success—at least according to AT&T CEO John Stankey.

— Preston Fore, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2026
High-profile right-wing accounts that previously served as yes-men for Musk—such as Ian Miles Cheong, a Malaysian who purportedly lives in the United Arab Emirates and posts incessant, racist drivel about American politics—have melted down over the platform’s decision to dox users.

— Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 24 Nov. 2025

Definition of yes-men

Noun

Batman’s nemesis is a billionaire with his own personal island for committing atrocities; Superman is traveling the world combating corporate abuse of laborers; this year’s new addition, Green Arrow, flat-out hunts CEOs.

— Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2026
The organization later became the United Farm Workers, a union that fought to improve wages, working conditions and protections for agricultural laborers.

— Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of laborers

Noun

Parks workers who don't comply with the new policy could face discipline, officials said, adding, the policy also instructs them to not engage in any verbal or physical altercations with ICE agents.

— Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
People who earn at least 50,000 pounds ($67,000) a year will only have to wait five years, as will public-sector workers including doctors, nurses and teachers.

— ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of workers

Noun

The king crab legs are barely seasoned but expertly grilled and dripping with salty sweetness, the kind that’s hard to wash off your hands.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Oct. 2026
To such the State renders comparatively small service, and a slight tax is wont to appear exorbitant, particularly if they are obliged to earn it by special labor with their hands.

— René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of hands

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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“Cogs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cogs. Accessed 4 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of cogs

noun

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