cordon

1 of 2

noun

cor·​don ˈkȯr-dᵊn How to pronounce cordon (audio)
-ˌdän
1
a
: an ornamental cord or ribbon
untied the cordon that fastened his cloak
2
a
: a line of troops or of military posts enclosing an area to prevent passage
b
: a line of persons or objects around a person or place
a cordon of police
3
: an espalier especially of a fruit tree trained as a single horizontal shoot or two diverging horizontal shoots in a single line

cordon

2 of 2

verb

cordoned; cordoning; cordons

transitive verb

: to form a protective or restrictive cordon (see cordon entry 1 sense 2) around
usually used with off
Police cordoned off the area around the crime scene.

Examples of cordon in a Sentence

Noun A cordon of police kept protesters away from the building.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The second year, growth that sprouts from the trunk can be directed to form two more cordons to either side, approximately two-thirds of the distance up from the ground to the top of the vine. Joshua Siskin, Orange County Register, 16 Feb. 2024 Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin awaits the arrival of Kenyan Defense Minister Aden Duale at an honor cordon at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on Wednesday. Angela Yang, NBC News, 11 Feb. 2024 Both banks of the river will be lined by spectators, behind multiple security cordons. Chicago Tribune, 31 Jan. 2024 Meanwhile, the security cordon remains, with the tribe on the outside. Peter S. Goodman Jes Aznar, New York Times, 30 Dec. 2023 In preparation for an influx of people from Gaza, senior officials say Egypt has set up additional security cordons for an existing buffer zone by the border. WSJ, 26 Oct. 2023 When planting out cordons, they can be spaced as close as around 20 to 30 inches apart. Elizabeth Waddington, Treehugger, 25 July 2023 On the morning of September 26, police closed the roads and put up a 200-meter (656-foot) cordon around the unexploded bomb. Gretchen Smail, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Oct. 2023 Ties have soured this year, however, as new President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who authorised the cutting of the cordon, seeks to strengthen relations with ally the United States. Reuters, NBC News, 26 Sep. 2023
Verb
Unlike many defensive coordinators who cordon themselves off in the faraway comfort of the press box, Lynn sees everything from the sideline. Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2023 Some energy-company insiders have discussed ringfencing assets marked for divestiture in new legal entities that would essentially cordon them off, rather than risk their falling back into Russian hands, said one executive briefed on the discussions. Christopher M. Matthews and Jenny Strasburg, WSJ, 1 Mar. 2022 No one will be allowed to enter the area except for people who live there, essential workers like employees of elder care homes, and 1,700 government officers, including 500 policemen, who are being deployed to the area to cordon it off and assist health workers with door-to-door inspections. Naomi Xu Elegant, Fortune, 22 Jan. 2021 Attempts to cordon off out-of-state students from voting in their campus towns or to roll back preregistration for teenagers have failed in New Hampshire and Virginia. Neil Vigdor, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2023 Texas National Guard members, deployed by the state to El Paso this week, used razor wire to cordon off a gap in the border fence along a bank of the Rio Grande that became a popular crossing point for migrants who waded through shallow waters to approach immigration officials in recent days. Morgan Lee, Giovanna Dell'orto and Rebecca Santana, Chron, 21 Dec. 2022 Although American cities have also used caution tape to cordon off exercise equipment and benches, London health authorities appear to have been especially zealous in their taping frenzy; many of the tableaus Dench captured resemble works of installation art. Michael Hardy, Wired, 7 June 2020 To view what happened to women in Egypt as merely the product of an Arab or Muslim pathology, to view their experience as something pitiable and alien, would be to cordon them off once again in another way. Ursula Lindsey, The New York Review of Books, 9 Dec. 2022 Each use costs roughly $300,000, with workers dispatched to the artificial island, as patrol boats cordon off maritime traffic. Stefano Pitrelli, Washington Post, 26 Nov. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cordon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English coordone "cord worn in token of victory," borrowed from Middle French cordon "small cord, bowstring," going back to Old French, from corde "rope, string" + -on, diminutive suffix (going back to Latin -ō, -ōn-, suffix of nouns denoting persons with a prominent feature) — more at cord entry 1

Note: The sense "alignment of objects" appears to have originated in French in the 17th century; the military use ("line of military posts," etc.) is attested in French in the 18th century not long before it first appeared in English.

Verb

derivative of cordon entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1891, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cordon was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near cordon

Cite this Entry

“Cordon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cordon. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

cordon

noun
cor·​don
ˈkȯrd-ᵊn,
ˈkȯ(ə)r-ˌdän
1
: an ornamental cord used especially on costumes
2
: a line of persons or things around a person or place
a cordon of police
3
: a cord or ribbon worn as a badge or decoration
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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