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chord1 definition

chord (kôrd)

noun

  1. Archaic the string of a musical instrument
  2. a feeling or emotion thought of as being played on like the string of a harp to strike a sympathetic chord
  3. Aeron.
    1. an imaginary straight line extending directly through an airfoil from the leading to the trailing edge
    2. the length of such a line
  4. Anat. cord (sense )
  5. Engineering a principal horizontal member in a rigid framework, as of a bridge
  6. Geom. a straight line segment joining any two points on an arc, curve, or circumference

Etymology: altered (infl. by L chorda) < cord

chord2 definition

chord (kôrd)

noun

Music a combination of three or more tones sounded together in harmony

Etymology: altered (infl. by L chorda) < ME cord, aphetic < accord, accord

intransitive verb, transitive verb

  1. to harmonize
  2. to play chords on (a piano, guitar, etc.)

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms chord idiom

medical chord definition - medical

chord Synonyms

chord

n.

harmonizing tones, triad, octave; second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, ninth; major, minor, diminished, augmented, inverted, broken, primary, secondary, tertiary, tetrachord, perfect fourth, arpeggio, first inversion, second inversion, common chord; see also harmony 1, music 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

chord Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • strike: We seemed to strike a chord with the younger people.

Adjective modifier

  • vocal: My vocal chords were removed due to cancer over 11 years ago.

Modifies a noun

  • progression: Indeed, the ' theme ' is the chord progression itself.

Noun used with modifier

  • barre: When I first learned to make barre chords I had a rough time making all six strings sound clear.
chord usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

chord quotes

Universitas in modo citharae sit disposita, in qua diversa genera in modo chordarum sit consonantia. The universe is arranged like a cithera, in which different kinds of things sound together harmoniously, just as they do in a chord.

-Honorius of Autun

Seated one day at the organ, I was weary and ill at ease, And my fingers wandered idly Over the noisy keys; I know not what I was playing, Or what I was dreaming then, But I struck one chord of music, Like the sound of a great Amen.

-Proctor, Adelaide Ann pseudonym of  Mary Berwick

You just pick a chord, go twang, and you've got music.

-Vicious, Sid pseudonym of  John Simon Ritchie

chord quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"chord." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/chord>

APA Style

chord. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/chord

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