core

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈkȯr 

plural cores

often attributive

1

: a central and often foundational part usually distinct from the enveloping part by a difference in nature

the core of the city

: such as

a

: the usually inedible central part of some fruits (such as a pineapple)

especially : the papery or leathery carpels composing the ripened ovary in a pome fruit (such as an apple)

b

: the muscles of the mid-region of the torso

Your core is composed of the muscles that stabilize and move your pelvis, lower back, hips, and trunk.

—Adele Jackson-Gibson

core muscles/strength

core exercises

c

: the place in a nuclear reactor where fission (see fission entry 1 sense 3) occurs

d

: 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

e

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

f

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

g(1)

: a computer memory consisting of an array of cores strung on fine wires

broadly : the internal memory of a computer

(2)

: a tiny doughnut-shaped piece of magnetic material (such as ferrite) used in computer memories

(3)

: a mass of iron serving to concentrate and intensify the magnetic field resulting from a current in a surrounding coil

h

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

i

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

j

: the conducting wire with its insulation in an electric cable

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

core

2 of 4

verb

cored; coring

transitive verb

: to remove a core (see core entry 1 sense 1a) from

core an apple

corer noun

core

3 of 4

noun (2)

chiefly Scotland

: a group of people

CORE

4 of 4

abbreviation

ˈkȯr 

Congress of Racial Equality

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Distinguishing Between Core and Corps and Corpse and Corp

These words are frequently confused despite their very different applications. Core and corps both rhyme with more. Core can be a noun, verb, or adjective, but is most often used as a noun to refer to the central or most important part of something (“the core of the issue,” “the Earth’s core”) or to the usually inedible central part of a fruit (“an apple core”). Corps has several meanings, all of which refer to some kind of group: “the Marine Corps,” “the press corps.” Its plural form is also spelled corps (“two corps of reporters”) but is pronounced just as cores is. Unlike in corps, The “p” in corpse and corp is pronounced. Corpse refers to a dead body, and especially to the dead body of a human. Corp is an abbreviation for “corporation” and “corporal.” Corp, corps, and corpse all trace back to the Latin word corpus, meaning “body.” The origin of core is obscure.

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• belly
• blood
• bone(s)
• bosom
• breast
• gut
• heart
• heartstrings
• inner space
• inside
• quick
• soul

Examples of core in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

These Padres were built to shake baseball to its core, positioned to overwhelm the seemingly vulnerable Dodgers. —Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Sep. 2023

Fed officials pay particular attention to core prices, which are considered a better gauge of where inflation might be headed. —Bychristopher Rugaber, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2023

The Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the core Personal Consumption Expenditures index, is currently 4.2%, which is more than double the Fed’s target of 2%. —Anna Bahney, CNN, 28 Sep. 2023

For Friedman, the specifics of the entertainment industry and the minutiae of the chronology carry far less weight than the emotion at the show’s core. —Gordon Cox, Variety, 28 Sep. 2023

Consent and compensation stand at its core, as emphasized by CEO Thomas Graham. —Kurt Knutsson, Fox News, 27 Sep. 2023

On an annual basis, core CPI dropped to 4.3 percent, and the six-month trailing average, which also smooths out bumps, was running at 5 percent in August, down from 5.2 percent the prior month. —Rachel Siegel, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Sep. 2023

By comparison, the core CPI had increased 7.3% in the past year, signaling that prices have cooled over that time. —Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 13 Sep. 2023

And increasingly that meant inevitable contact with the police, who were armed with access to drivers’ records via shiny new squad-car computers and who made pretextual stops a core element of day-to-day policing. —Jack McCordick, The New Republic, 13 Sep. 2023

Verb

Each jackfruit is large and needs to be cored—and the core is quite sticky. —Brierley Horton, Ms, Rd, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Sep. 2023

Southern Living Member Is the 5 lbs of apples the weight of the whole apple or after coring and peeling? homecookinggirl A fantastic apple butter recipe and so easy. —Pam Lolley, Southern Living, 9 Sep. 2023

Chipotle is testing a collaborative robot prototype that cuts, cores and peels avocadoes before they are hand-mashed to assist in making guacamole, the company announced Wednesday. —Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY, 12 July 2023

The Ryzen 7 7736u has 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base speed of 2.7 GHz and a maximum turbo speed of 4.7 GHz, using the Zen 3+ cores with Radeon 680M graphics, produced on TSMC's 6nm process. —Michael J. Miller, PCMAG, 31 Mar. 2023

Prep the apples: Start by washing, peeling, and coring your apples. —Pam Lolley, Southern Living, 9 Sep. 2023

Bel Air and Edgewood are expected to be among the teams to beat — both groups have solid returning upperclassmen cores coming off one- and three-loss seasons a year ago. —Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 1 Sep. 2023

The devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami damaged the Fukushima nuclear plant’s power supply and cooling systems – causing the reactor cores to overheat and contaminate water within the plant with highly radioactive material. —Jessie Yeung, CNN, 22 Aug. 2023

Ingredients 2 cups ice cubes 1 cup cored and halved fresh strawberries (from 8 oz. —Karen Schroeder-Rankin, Southern Living, 2 July 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, of obscure origin

Verb

Middle English coren, derivative of core core entry 1

Noun (2)

perhaps by respelling of Middle English chore "chorus, company," borrowed from Latin chorus — more at chorus entry 1

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1622, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing core

• core city
• hard core
• rotten to the core
• to the core
• soft-core
• core inflation
• shaken to the core
• core competencies

• core city
• hard core
• rotten to the core
• to the core
• soft-core
• core inflation
• shaken to the core
• core competencies

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Kids Definition

core

1 of 2 noun

ˈkō(ə)r 

ˈkȯ(ə)r

1

: a central or most important part

2

: the usually inedible central part of some fruits (as a pineapple or apple)

3

: a part removed from the interior of a mass especially to find out the interior composition or a hidden condition

took a core of rock

4

a

: a mass of iron used to concentrate and strengthen the magnetic field resulting from a current in a surrounding coil

b

: the memory of a computer

5

: the central part of the earth having different properties from those of the surrounding parts

also : the central part of a heavenly body

6

: an arrangement of studies that brings together material from subjects that are usually taught separately

7

: the place in a nuclear reactor where fission takes place

core

2 of 2 verb

cored; coring

: to remove a core from

core an apple

corer noun

Medical Definition

core

noun

ˈkō(ə)r, ˈkȯ(ə)r 

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