chord

noun

(music) A harmonic set of three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously.

The string of a musical instrument.

(geometry) A line segment between two points of a curve.

(aeronautics) The distance between the leading and trailing edge of a wing, measured in the direction of the normal airflow.

(nautical) An imaginary line from the luff of a sail to its leech.

(engineering) A horizontal member of a truss.

(rail transport) A section of subsidiary railway track that interconnects two primary tracks that cross at different levels, to permit traffic to flow between them.

(computing) A keyboard shortcut that involves two or more distinct keypresses, such as Ctrl+M followed by P.

(graph theory) An edge that is not part of a cycle but connects two vertices of the cycle.

(anatomy) A cord.

verb

(music) To accord; to harmonize together.

(transitive) To write chords for.

(transitive) To provide with musical chords or strings; to string; to tune.

Roots

chordechord- · Greek · string, cord

Synonyms for chord

arpeggion enharmonicadj harmonizev melodizev tunen

Synonyms & related words for chord

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of chord — including arpeggio, enharmonic, harmonize, melodize, tune. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to chord

Explore words related to chord — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include chordal, heptachord, arpeggiate, diatonically, strum, diatonic, subcontraoctave, arpeggiation. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for chord

Common synonyms for chord include arpeggio, enharmonic, harmonize, melodize, tune — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does chord come from?

The word chord breaks down into one root of Greek origin: the root chord-, from Greek chorde (“string, cord”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.