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cord|less /kɔː ^r dləs/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] A cordless telephone or piece of electric equipment is operated by a battery fitted inside it and is not connected to the electricity mains. □  The waitress approached Picone with a cordless phone.

cor|don /kɔː ^r d ^ə n/ (cordons , cordoning , cordoned ) N‑COUNT A cordon is a line or ring of police, soldiers, or vehicles preventing people from entering or leaving an area. □  Police formed a cordon between the two crowds.

▸  cordon off PHRASAL VERB If police or soldiers cordon off an area, they prevent people from entering or leaving it, usually by forming a line or ring. □ [V P n] Police cordoned off part of the city centre. □ [V n P ] The police cordoned everything off.

cor|don bleu /kɔː ^r dɒn blɜː / ADJ [ADJ n] Cordon bleu is used to describe cookery or cooks of the highest standard. □  I took a cordon bleu cookery course.

cor|du|roy /kɔː ^r dərɔ I / (corduroys )

1 N‑UNCOUNT Corduroy is thick cotton cloth with parallel raised lines on the outside. □  …a corduroy jacket.

2 N‑PLURAL Corduroys are trousers made out of corduroy.

core ◆◇◇ /kɔː ^r / (cores , coring , cored )

1 N‑COUNT [oft n N ] The core of a fruit is the central part of it. It contains seeds or pips. □  Peel the pears and remove the cores.

2 VERB If you core a fruit, you remove its core. □ [V n] …machines for peeling and coring apples.

3 N‑COUNT [usu with poss] The core of an object, building, or city is the central part of it. □  …the earth's core. □ [+ of ] The core of the city is a series of ancient squares.

4 N‑SING The core of something such as a problem or an issue is the part of it that has to be understood or accepted before the whole thing can be understood or dealt with. □ [+ of ] …the ability to get straight to the core of a problem.

5 N‑SING [N n] A core team or a core group is a group of people who do the main part of a job or piece of work. Other people may also help, but only for limited periods of time. □  We already have our core team in place. □ [+ of ] A core of about six staff would continue with the project.

6 N‑SING [usu N n] In a school or college, core subjects are a group of subjects that have to be studied. □  The core subjects are English, mathematics and science. □ [+ of ] …a core of nine academic subjects.

7 N‑SING [usu N n] The core businesses or the core activities of a company or organization are their most important ones. □  The group plans to concentrate on six core businesses. □ [+ of ] However, the main core of the company performed outstandingly.

8 → see also hard core , hard-core , soft-core

9 PHRASE You can use to the core to describe someone who is a very strong supporter of someone or something and will never change their views. For example, you can say that someone is Republican to the core . □  The villagers are royalist to the core.

10 PHRASE If someone is shaken to the core or shocked to the core , they are extremely shaken or shocked. □  Leonard was shaken to the core; he'd never seen or read anything like it. SYNONYMS core NOUN 4

essence:Others claim that Ireland's very essence is expressed through the language.

nub:That, I think, is the nub of the problem.

heart:The heart of the problem is supply and demand.

substance:The substance of his discussions doesn't really matter.

crux:He said the crux of the matter was economic policy.