Definition of chord noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary



    BrE BrE//kɔːd//
    ; NAmE NAmE//kɔːrd//
    jump to other results
  1. 1 (music) two or more notes played together
  2. 2(mathematics) a straight line that joins two points on a curve
  3. see also vocal cords
    Word Origin sense 1 Middle English cord, from accord. The spelling change in the 18th cent. was due to confusion with chord in the mathematical sense. The original sense was ‘agreement, reconciliation’, later ‘a musical concord or harmonious sound’; the current sense dates from the mid 18th cent. sense 2 mid 16th cent. (in the anatomical sense): a later spelling (influenced by Latin chorda ‘rope’) of cord.Idioms
    strike/touch a chord (with somebody)
    jump to other results
See the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary entry: chord