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cordon

American  
[kawr-dn] / ˈkɔr dn /

noun

  1. a line of police, sentinels, military posts, warships, etc., enclosing or guarding an area.

  2. a cord or braid worn for ornament or as a fastening.

  3. a ribbon worn usually diagonally across the breast as a badge of a knightly or honorary order.

  4. Fortification.

    1. a projecting course of stones at the base of a parapet.

    2. the coping of a scarp.

  5. Architecture.

    1. a stringcourse, especially one having little or no projection.

    2. a cut-stone riser on a stepped ramp or the like.

  6. a fruit tree or shrub trained to grow along a support or a series of such supports.

verb (used with object)

  1. to surround or blockade with or as with a cordon (usually followed byoff ).

    The police cordoned off the street.
cordon British  
/ ˈkɔːdən /

noun

  1. a chain of police, soldiers, ships, etc, stationed around an area

  2. a ribbon worn as insignia of honour or rank

  3. a cord or ribbon worn as an ornament or fastening

  4. Also called: string course.   belt course.   table.  architect an ornamental projecting band or continuous moulding along a wall

  5. horticulture a form of fruit tree consisting of a single stem bearing fruiting spurs, produced by cutting back all lateral branches

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to put or form a cordon (around); close (off)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cordon

1400–50; Middle English < Middle French, diminutive of corde

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The incident happened at the Centre:MK on Saturday afternoon and large police cordon remains in place.

From BBC

They would form a cordon, hold the crowd back for a few minutes.

From BBC

But, still the military placed an armed cordon around the hospital in case of attack.

From BBC

He said a cordon remained in place at the site.

From BBC

Security at Mar-a-Lago is extremely tight, with an outer cordon of local Palm Beach sheriffs and an inner one maintained by the Secret Service.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.