I. ˈkō(ə)r, -ȯ(ə)r, -ōə, -ȯ(ə) noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English
1. : the central and often foundational part of a body, mass, or construction usually distinct from the enveloping part by a difference in nature or by being cut out or separated
the core of a storm
core of a city
core of a flame
as
a. : the central portion in certain fruits (as the hard central section of a pineapple) ; especially : the papery or leathery carpels composing the ripened ovary in fruits of the apple family
b. : a hard unburned central part of a piece of coal or limestone ; also : an unburned or overburned piece of limestone found in hydrated lime
c. : the necrotic slough in the central part of a boil
d. : the central or axial interior part of a structure (as a column or wall) often made of inferior material
e. : a separate portion of a foundry mold which shapes the interior of a hollow casting or which makes a hole in or through a casting ; also : a part of the mold made separately and inserted for shaping some part of the casting
f. : a portion removed from the interior of a mass usually to determine the interior composition or hidden condition
the holes bored in the ice provided cores for determination of the variation of density with depth — Valter Schytt
took a core from the well drilling for geological and chemical analysis
g. : the bony process that forms the central axis of the horns of the hollow-horned ruminants
h. : the central strand around which other strands twist in some kinds of rope — called also heart
i. : a mass of iron often made up of thin plates or wires and enclosed in a coil (as in an electromagnet, transformer, or armature) serving to concentrate and intensify the magnetic field resulting from a current in the coil
j. : the conducting wire with its insulation in an electric cable but not including mechanical protective covering
k. : a nodule of obsidian, flint, or other stone from which flakes have been struck for making implements
l. : a wall or structure of impervious material forming the central part of an embankment or dike (as a dam) the outer parts of which are pervious
m. : a hollow space in the body of a large metal type or in the metal base of a stereotype or electrotype ; also : a hollow stereotype mount
n. : the unaffected interior of a carburized or case-hardened piece of metal
o. : the central part of the earth having a radius of about 2100 miles and displaying notably different physical properties from the surrounding mantle and crust
p. : the cylindrical portion of a lock which rotates when the key is turned
q. : a stiff tube on which paper or other material may be wound
paper toweling wound on a paperboard core
r.
(1) : the central layer of wood on which veneers are glued in making plywood or veneered wood for cabinetwork
(2) : the center ply of a piece of plywood
s. : centrum
t. : the remainder of an atom after the removal of the valency electrons — called also rumpf
u. : an arrangement of a course of studies that combines under certain basic topics material from subjects conventionally separated and aims to provide a common background for all students, to integrate the individual student's program, and to relate the work of the school to experience and to society
core curriculum
core program
v. : the shield of a continent
w. : the plug or neck of a volcano
x. : the central part of an anticlinal or domal structure or of mountains having a folded or completely crumpled structure
y. : the part of an automobile radiator in which most of the cooling of the water takes place
z. : the center or base portion of a clad product
aa. : the place in a nuclear reactor where fission occurs
2. : the part (as of an individual, a class, an entity) that is basic, essential, vital, or enduring as distinct from the incidental or transient
a hard core of perhaps 10 percent who have been in the party for 15 years — A.M.Schlesinger b.1917
carrier task forces are the core of the Navy — T.K.Finletter
: the essential meaning or gist
the core of the book is thus an attempt to comprehend the nature of total war — Times Literary Supplement
: the inmost or most intimate part
their theory of life had its core of soundness — George Eliot
his wife was Victorian to the core — Robert Payne
Synonyms: see center
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1. : to take out the core of
core an apple
2. : to drill through the core of : remove the axial portion of
core the barrel after casting it
3. : to take a core from as a sample of interior composition
core an oil well
core a salt formation
4. : to form (as a hole in a casting) by means of a core
III. ˈkō(ə)r, -ōə noun
( -s )
Etymology: alteration of Middle English chore chorus, choir, company, from Latin chorus — more at chorus
1. chiefly Scotland : a company (as of players in a curling match)
2. dialect England
a. : a gang of miners in one shift
b. : underground working time or shift especially in a mine
IV.
variant of kor
V. noun
or core memory
1. : a tiny doughnut-shaped piece of magnetic material (as ferrite) used in computer memories — called also magnetic core
2. or core storage : a computer memory consisting of an array of cores strung on fine wires ; broadly : the internal memory of a computer