um ‧ bil ‧ i ‧ cal cord /ʌmˈbɪlɪk ə l ˌkɔːd $ -ˌkɔːrd/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . a long narrow tube of flesh that joins an unborn baby to its mother
2 . a strong feeling of belonging to or a strong feeling of relationship with a particular place, person, organization etc:
All modern popular music has an umbilical cord linking back to blues and R and B.
Teenage boys especially feel a need to cut the umbilical cord tying them to their mothers.