cordon
1 of 2noun
cor·don ˈkȯr-dᵊn 
-ˌdän
1
a
: an ornamental cord or ribbon
untied the cordon that fastened his cloak
b
: stringcourse
2
a
: a line of troops or of military posts enclosing an area to prevent passage
b
: a line of persons or objects around a person or place
a cordon of police
3
: an espalier especially of a fruit tree trained as a single horizontal shoot or two diverging horizontal shoots in a single line
cordon
2 of 2verb
cordoned; cordoning; cordons
transitive verb
: to form a protective or restrictive cordon (see cordon entry 1 sense 2) around —usually used with off
Police cordoned off the area around the crime scene.
Example Sentences
Noun A cordon of police kept protesters away from the building.
Recent Examples on the Web
Anchorage Daily News, 29 May 2022 Police had to form a cordon around Mr. Chebukati, who later said two other commissioners were injured in the melee. Michael M. Phillips, WSJ, 15 Aug. 2022 The scene outside the police cordon grew tense as families demanded to know why officers weren’t storming into the building to save their children. Anchorage Daily News, 29 May 2022 After nightfall, the police sealed off more areas of the park, driving residents out with advancing cordon lines. Nectar Gan, CNN, 4 June 2022 Video shows distraught families pacing, rushing the cordon, cursing at officers. Anchorage Daily News, 29 May 2022 Video shows distraught families pacing, rushing the cordon, cursing at officers. Mark Berman, Washington Post, 28 May 2022 At times the crowd grew restive and fights nearly broke out when someone tried to jump the line, which was a temptation because there was no cordon. Laura Saunders, WSJ, 20 May 2022 The scene outside the police cordon grew tense as families demanded to know why officers weren’t storming into the building to save their children. Anchorage Daily News, 29 May 2022 New York Times, 24 Apr. 2022 Combined with new measures limiting imports of Taiwan’s goods to China, the moves appeared intended to display Beijing’s ability to cordon off the island with its military while disrupting its trade. Brian Spegele, WSJ, 3 Aug. 2022 The prison battle drew the U.S. military into the fray in support of the Syrian Democratic Forces, or the S.D.F., providing airstrikes, intelligence and armored vehicles to cordon off the prison. New York Times, 27 Jan. 2022 The new feature, called Lockdown Mode, will let anyone, with a flick of a button, effectively cordon off parts of their iPhone and other devices from avenues of attack, including email attachments and unsolicited FaceTime calls. Sean Lyngaas, CNN, 6 July 2022 But the life of a congressman in the 1970s — shuttling between Washington and New York with minimal media scrutiny — allowed Mr. Koch to cordon off parts of his identity. New York Times, 7 May 2022 After an outside archaeologist alerted the state to the likely existence of gravesites, the petrochemical company that owned the land agreed to cordon off at least one of those cemeteries. Seth Freed Wessler, ProPublica, 20 May 2022 First responders could be seen preparing a stretcher to transport the patient while officers worked to cordon off an area near the bar with crime scene tape. Caroline Silva, ajc, 19 May 2022 Videos posted to social media depicted a grim tableau: uniformed officers bent over victims on the ground, performing CPR, as dozens of distraught people milled around and yelled in pain or grief while police tried to cordon off the area. Dustin Gardiner, Kevin Fagan, Megan Cassidy, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Apr. 2022 See More
Noun
Video shows distraught families pacing, rushing the cordon, cursing at officers. Anchorage Daily News, 29 May 2022 Police had to form a cordon around Mr. Chebukati, who later said two other commissioners were injured in the melee. Michael M. Phillips, WSJ, 15 Aug. 2022 The scene outside the police cordon grew tense as families demanded to know why officers weren’t storming into the building to save their children. Anchorage Daily News, 29 May 2022 After nightfall, the police sealed off more areas of the park, driving residents out with advancing cordon lines. Nectar Gan, CNN, 4 June 2022 Video shows distraught families pacing, rushing the cordon, cursing at officers. Anchorage Daily News, 29 May 2022 Video shows distraught families pacing, rushing the cordon, cursing at officers. Mark Berman, Washington Post, 28 May 2022 At times the crowd grew restive and fights nearly broke out when someone tried to jump the line, which was a temptation because there was no cordon. Laura Saunders, WSJ, 20 May 2022 The scene outside the police cordon grew tense as families demanded to know why officers weren’t storming into the building to save their children. Anchorage Daily News, 29 May 2022 Verb
But there was no easily visible sign of the high green security fences being used in Shanghai to cordon off homes and neighborhoods. New York Times, 24 Apr. 2022 Combined with new measures limiting imports of Taiwan’s goods to China, the moves appeared intended to display Beijing’s ability to cordon off the island with its military while disrupting its trade. Brian Spegele, WSJ, 3 Aug. 2022 The prison battle drew the U.S. military into the fray in support of the Syrian Democratic Forces, or the S.D.F., providing airstrikes, intelligence and armored vehicles to cordon off the prison. New York Times, 27 Jan. 2022 The new feature, called Lockdown Mode, will let anyone, with a flick of a button, effectively cordon off parts of their iPhone and other devices from avenues of attack, including email attachments and unsolicited FaceTime calls. Sean Lyngaas, CNN, 6 July 2022 But the life of a congressman in the 1970s — shuttling between Washington and New York with minimal media scrutiny — allowed Mr. Koch to cordon off parts of his identity. New York Times, 7 May 2022 After an outside archaeologist alerted the state to the likely existence of gravesites, the petrochemical company that owned the land agreed to cordon off at least one of those cemeteries. Seth Freed Wessler, ProPublica, 20 May 2022 First responders could be seen preparing a stretcher to transport the patient while officers worked to cordon off an area near the bar with crime scene tape. Caroline Silva, ajc, 19 May 2022 Videos posted to social media depicted a grim tableau: uniformed officers bent over victims on the ground, performing CPR, as dozens of distraught people milled around and yelled in pain or grief while police tried to cordon off the area. Dustin Gardiner, Kevin Fagan, Megan Cassidy, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Apr. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English coordone "cord worn in token of victory," borrowed from Middle French cordon "small cord, bowstring," going back to Old French, from corde "rope, string" + -on, diminutive suffix (going back to Latin -ō, -ōn-, suffix of nouns denoting persons with a prominent feature) — more at cord entry 1
Note: The sense "alignment of objects" appears to have originated in French in the 17th century; the military use ("line of military posts," etc.) is attested in French in the 18th century not long before it first appeared in English.
Verb
derivative of cordon entry 1
First Known Use
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Verb
1891, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing cordon
cordons
noun
as in barricades
a line of people or objects that are placed around or in front of a person or place to keep people away A cordon of police kept protesters away from the building. Synonyms & Similar Words
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