core
noun
the central part of a fleshy fruit, containing the seeds.
core
1 American
[kawr]
/ kɔr /
noun
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the central part of a fleshy fruit, containing the seeds.
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the central, innermost, or most essential part of anything.
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Also called magnetic core. Electricity. the piece of iron, bundle of iron wires, or other ferrous material forming the central or inner portion in an electromagnet, induction coil, transformer, or the like.
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(in mining, geology, etc.) a cylindrical sample of earth, mineral, or rock extracted from the ground by means of a corer so that the strata are undisturbed in the sample.
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the inside wood of a tree.
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Anthropology. a lump of stone, as flint, from which prehistoric humans struck flakes in order to make tools.
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Carpentry.
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a thickness of wood forming a base for a veneer.
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a wooden construction, as in a door, forming a backing for veneers.
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Engineering. kern.
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Metallurgy.
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a thickness of base metal beneath a cladding.
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the softer interior of a piece of casehardened metal.
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a specially formed refractory object inserted into a mold to produce cavities or depressions in the casting that cannot be readily formed on the pattern.
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Geology. the central portion of the earth, having a radius of about 2,100 miles (3,379 km) and believed to be composed mainly of iron and nickel in a molten state.
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Also called reactor core. Physics. the region in a reactor that contains its fissionable material.
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Computers.
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Also called magnetic core. a small ring or loop of ferromagnetic material with two states of polarization that can be changed by changing the direction of the current applied in wires wound around the ring, used to store one bit of information or to perform switching or logical functions.
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Also called main memory. Also called RAM. a term used to refer to main memory, though no longer made from from coils of ferromagnetic material.
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Ropemaking. heart.
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Phonetics. the final segment of a syllable beginning with the vowel and including any following consonants; the nucleus plus the coda.
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the muscles of the torso, which provide support for the spine and pelvis.
Building a strong core can help with posture and flexibility and can prevent back injury.
verb (used with object)
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cores,
present (3rd person singular)
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cored,
past participle, past
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coring
present participle
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to remove the core of (fruit).
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to cut from the central part.
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to remove (a cylindrical sample) from the interior, as of the earth or a tree trunk.
to core the ocean bottom.
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to form a cavity in (a molded object) by placing a core, as of sand, in the mold before pouring.
adjective
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of central importance; basic; fundamental.
the core values of our organization.
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noting or relating to the muscles of the torso.
core exercises for back pain.
core
2
American
[kawr, kohr]
/ kɔr, koʊr /
noun
Chiefly Scot.
CORE
4
American
[kawr, kohr]
/ kɔr, koʊr /
Or
C.O.R.E.
noun
-core
5
American
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a combining form extracted from hard-core, used to form words that name a rebellious or nonmainstream lifestyle, social movement, type of music, etc..
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the compounding form of core, used to form words describing an aesthetic or imagery that evokes nostalgia for vintage styles, traditional skills, past trends, etc..
core
1
British
/ kɔː /
noun
-
the central part of certain fleshy fruits, such as the apple or pear, consisting of the seeds and supporting parts
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the central, innermost, or most essential part of something
the core of the argument
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( as modifier )
the core meaning
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a piece of magnetic material, such as soft iron, placed inside the windings of an electromagnet or transformer to intensify and direct the magnetic field
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geology the central part of the earth, beneath the mantle, consisting mainly of iron and nickel, which has an inner solid part surrounded by an outer liquid part
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a cylindrical sample of rock, soil, etc, obtained by the use of a hollow drill
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shaped body of material (in metal casting usually of sand) supported inside a mould to form a cavity of predetermined shape in the finished casting
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physics the region of a nuclear reactor in which the reaction takes place
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a layer of wood serving as a backing for a veneer
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computing
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one of several processing units working in parallel in a computer
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a ferrite ring formerly used in a computer memory to store one bit of information
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short for core store
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( as modifier )
core memory
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archaeol a lump of stone or flint from which flakes or blades have been removed
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physics the nucleus together with all complete electron shells of an atom
verb
CORE
2
British
/ kɔː /
acronym
-core
3
British
combining form
combining form
core
Scientific
/ kôr /
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The central or innermost portion of the Earth, lying below the mantle and probably consisting of iron and nickel. It is divided into a liquid outer core, which begins at a depth of 2,898 km (1,800 mi), and a solid inner core, which begins at a depth of 4,983 km (3,090 mi).
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A piece of magnetizable material, such as a rod of soft iron, that is placed inside an electrical coil or transformer to intensify and provide a path for the magnetic field produced by the current running through the wire windings.
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The central part of a nuclear reactor where atomic fission occurs. The core contains the fuel, the coolant, and the moderator.
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A long, cylindrical sample of soil, rock, or ice collected with a drill to study the strata of material that are not visible from the surface.
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A stone from which one or more flakes have been removed, serving as a tool in itself or as a source of flakes from which other tools could be fashioned. Stones used as cores include flint, chert, and obsidian.
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See more at core tool
core
Cultural
core
Idioms
Usage
What does -core mean? The combining form -core is used like a suffix to denote "a rebellious, anti-mainstream lifestyle, social movement, type of music, etc."The form -core comes from the expression hardcore, "a form of punk rock or other nonmainstream popular music." Hardcore can denote not just a kind of a music but an entire lifestyle culture. From this, -core came to denote other music scenes, lifestyle cultures, or aesthetics.
Discover More
The core is made primarily of iron and nickel and has two parts — an inner solid core and an outer liquid core.
The mantle is the layer of the Earth that overlies the core.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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coresimple
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coressimple
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have coredperfect
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has coredperfect
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am coringprogressive
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are coringprogressive
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is coringprogressive
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have been coringperfect progressive
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has been coringperfect progressive
Past
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coredsimple
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had coredperfect
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was coringprogressive
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were coringprogressive
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had been coringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of core1
First recorded in 1350–1400; 1945–50 core 1 for def. 11; Middle English; origin uncertain; perhaps from Old French cors “body,” from Latin corpus
Origin of core2
First recorded in 1620–30; alteration of Middle English chor(e) “group, company; choir”; see chorus
Explanation
If you're looking for the most essential part or the very center of something, you're looking for its core. Like the inedible middle of an apple or your inner circle of core friends. In the late 14th century, the noun core came about from the Old French coeur, meaning “core of fruit” and more literally, “heart.” So the core of something is its very heart, whether you're talking about the seed-containing center of a fruit, the central meaning of a book, or the core courses you need to take in order to graduate.
Vocabulary lists containing core
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 8
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Physical Geography - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Meta doesn't deny that some users, including teens, have negative experiences on its two core apps, but the company maintains it created features to reduce those risks.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
In Olongapo, the city adjacent to the core of the former base, ex-U.S. servicemen who have settled in the area hang out at the bar and clubhouse of the American Legion veterans organization.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Target had net sales growth across all six of its core merchandising categories, with particularly strong gains for its hardlines products, which include toys and electronics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Tai chi strengthens the lower-body and builds postural and core muscles — the body’s deep stabilizing muscles — though it does so gently, over time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Following the spirit’s advice, Willets was hired and soon joined the sisters’ core group of believers.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Core prices excluding volatile food and energy costs increased by 1.9% from a year earlier after rising 1.8% in June.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
The Harbor International Core Fund Fund’s institutional shares have annual expenses totaling 0.85% of assets under management, which means $85 in annual fees for a $10,000 investment.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 2.5 percent from a year ago.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Core prices in that measure rose 3.3% in June.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
So far, forty-six states and the District of Columbia have signed on to what is called the Common Core set of standards.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
Earlier this month, L.A.-based aid organization Community Organized Relief Effort, or CORE, founded by Sean Penn and Ann Lee, broke ground on one of the hamlet’s newest local gathering spots: the Altadena Center for Community.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026
Building and training an LLM from scratch is too costly for all but the wealthiest organizations, says Petr Knoth, director of CORE, the world’s largest repository of open-access papers.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 21, 2023
Ann Lee, co-founder of US-based crisis response group CORE, which is still operating in the capital, said that many international groups had left due to increasing intimidation and violence against staff.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2023
Black church congregations folded bills hidden inside envelopes and sent the money to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, to the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, to the NAACP, to CORE.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 25, 2023
He was, however, carrying business cards identifying him as field secretary of CORE.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
So scientists anchor the world’s coordinates to far-off stillness: quasars, the luminous cores of galaxies billions of light-years away, observed nightly by radio telescopes across multiple continents and cross-checked with lasers bounced off satellites.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
By studying sediment cores, the team found that large amounts of carbon from land are preserved in the seafloor.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
IBM’s mainframe processors have huge amounts of on-chip memory, yet relatively few very fast computing cores.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
This allows scientists to compare samples from different layers within the same core, as well as samples taken from cores in separate locations.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
Triggered by emergency systems, control rods automatically shot up into the reactor cores, putting a damper on the movement of neutrons between the fuel rods.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
He has described the prehistoric-looking Dalmatian pelicans, which “have eyes of such tremulous glacial depths—the bluish-gray sclera like an ice sheet being cored by the black iris—that they appear to hold entire worlds inside them.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Engineers hope spherical tokamaks–shaped like a cored apple rather than a doughnut—can be built smaller and more cheaply than conventional tokamaks.
From Science Magazine ● Sep. 7, 2023
Lately there has been increasing interest in smaller devices with a more spherical shape, like a cored apple.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 5, 2023
Seattle cored three in the ninth off Matt Bush, who had his third blown save this season, to tie the score 5-5.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 5, 2022
Fritters.—These are made with every kind of fruit, when ripe, peeled and stoned, or cored when necessary, and according to the kind.
From Hand-Book of Practical Cookery for Ladies and Professional Cooks by Pierre Blot
Their work included sediment coring, laboratory testing, climate reconstructions, and studies of past plant and animal activity.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026
Han wanted to expand KOPRI’s ice coring efforts south from the country’s Jang Bogo Station along the same section of coastline Neff targeted.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 18, 2024
A mix of tests was used at the site including "coring", which involves the drilling and extraction of cylinders of concrete.
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2024
As reported by CNN Business, Chipotle has now launched the "Autocado," a robot "designed to perform the more tedious tasks involved in creating the chain's guacamole, including cutting, coring and peeling avocados."
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2023
Toasting bread and cheese, coring apples, placing chestnuts in the fire to roast.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
