cork
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cork¹
- /kɔɹk/ US
- /kɔːk/ UK
Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)k
Where it comes from
From Middle English cork (“oak bark, cork”), from Middle Dutch curc (“cork (material or object)”), either from Spanish corcho (“cork (material or object)”) (also corcha or corche) or from Old Spanish alcorque (“cork sole”). Doublet of cortex.
noun corks
-
The dead protective tissue between the bark and cambium in woody plants, with suberin deposits making it impervious to gasses and water.
Similar: phellem
-
The phellem of the cork oak, used for making bottle stoppers, flotation devices, and insulation material.
I confess my confidence was shaken by these actions, though I knew well enough that his leg was no more cork than my own
Similar: phellem
- A bottle stopper made from this or any other material. Snobs feel it's hard to call it wine with a straight face when the cork is made of plastic.
- An angling float, also traditionally made of oak cork.
- The cork oak, Quercus suber.
verb corks · corking · corked
- To seal or stop up, especially with a cork stopper. 2014, Paul Salopek, Blessed. Cursed. Claimed., National Geographic (December 2014)https://web.archive.org/web/20150212214621/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/pilgrim-roads/salopek-text Arms draped on shoulders, kick-stepping in circles, they swing bottles of wine. Purpled thumbs cork the bo
- To blacken (as) with a burnt cork.
- To leave the cork in a bottle after attempting to uncork it.
- To fill with cork.
- To tamper with (a bat) by drilling out part of the head and filling the cavity with cork or similar light, compressible material. He corked his bat, which was discovered when it broke, causing a controversy.
- To injure through a blow; to induce a haematoma. The vicious tackle corked his leg.
- To position one's drift net just outside of another person's net, thereby intercepting and catching all the fish that would have gone into that person's net. Kate remembered then, the family fish camp a mile or so up Amartuq Creek, the very creek across the mouth of which Yuri Andreev had tried to cork Joe Anahonak not half an hour before.
- To block (a street) illegally, to allow a protest or other activity to take place without traffic. […] corking the streets is a challenge to capitalist ideologies, like skateboarding in parking lots and walkways […]
cork²
- /kɔɹk/ US
- /kɔːk/ UK
Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)k
Where it comes from
From the traversal path resembling that of a corkscrew.
noun corks
- An aerialist maneuver involving a rotation where the rider goes heels over head, with the board overhead.
verb corks · corking · corked
- To perform such a maneuver.
adjective
- Having the property of a head over heels rotation.
Cork³
- /kɔɹk/ US
- /kɔːk/ UK
Where it comes from
From Irish Corcaigh (“bog, marsh, swamp”).
proper noun
- The principal city of County Cork, Ireland.
- A county in the Republic of Ireland (County Cork).
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: phellem, cork up, bob, bobber, bobfloat, peanut, jam, bottleneck, cap, clog, stopper, bit, plug, top, congestion, blockage
Translations
Every language
noun phellem of the cork oak
| Español | corcho |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 코르크 koreukeu |
| 日本語 | コルク koruku |
| 中文 | 軟木 /软木 ruǎnmù |
| Português | cortiça |
| Français | liège |
| Deutsch | Kork |
| Italiano | sughero |
| Ελληνικά | φελλός fellós |
| Română | plută |
| Русский | про́бка próbka |
| العربية | فِلِّين fillīn |
| עברית | שַׁעַם shá'am |
noun bottle stopper
| Español | corcho, falsete |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 코르크 koreukeu, 마개 magae, 스토퍼 seutopeo |
| 日本語 | コルク栓 koruku sen, ストッパー sutoppā |
| 中文 | 椊 zuó, 瓶塞 píngsāi, 塞子 sāizi, 塞 sāi, 軟木塞 /软木塞 ruǎnmùsāi |
| हिन्दी | ढक्कन ḍhakkan |
| Kiswahili | kizibo |
| Português | rolha |
| Français | bouchon |
| Deutsch | Stöpsel, Kork, Korken |
| Italiano | turacciolo |
| Ελληνικά | φελλός fellós |
| Română | dop |
| Русский | про́бка próbka, заты́чка zatýčka |
| Tiếng Việt | nút |
| العربية | فِلِّينَة fillīna, فَدَام fadām, فِدَام fidām |
| עברית | שַׁעַם shá'am, פְּקָק p'kak |
verb to seal with a stopper, especially with cork
| Português | arrolhar |
|---|---|
| Русский | затыка́ть zatykátʹ, заткну́ть zatknútʹ |
noun aerialist corkscrew maneuver
| Français | cork |
|---|
name city
| Español | Cork |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 코크 kokeu |
| 日本語 | コーク Kōku |
| 中文 | 科克 Kēkè |
| Deutsch | Cork |
| Ελληνικά | Κορκ Kork |
| العربية | كورك kūrik |
| עברית | קורק |
name county
| Deutsch | Cork |
|---|
Talk about this word "cork." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cork. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. cork. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cork "cork." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cork.Cite this
@misc{cork_2026,
title = {cork},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cork},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
