cork
noun /kɔːk/
/kɔːrk/
- [uncountable] a light, soft material that is the thick bark of a type of Mediterranean oak tree
- a cork mat
- cork tiles
- [countable] a small round object made of cork or plastic, that is used for closing bottles, especially wine bottles
enlarge image- to draw the cork
- Champagne corks were popping (= people were celebrating).
Synonyms lidlid- top
- cork
- cap
- plug
- lid a cover over a container that can be removed or opened by turning or lifting it:
- a jar with a tight-fitting lid
- top a thing that you put over the end of something such as a pen or bottle in order to close it
- cork a small, round object made of cork or plastic that is used for closing bottles, especially wine bottles
- cap (often in compounds) a top for a pen or a cover for protecting something such as the lens of a camera
- plug a round piece of material that you put into a hole in order to block it; a flat, round rubber or plastic thing that you put into the hole of a sink in order to stop the water from flowing out:
- a bath plug
- a tight-fitting lid/top/cap
- a screw top/cap
- a pen lid/top
- to put on/screw on/take off/unscrew the lid/top/cap
- to pull out the cork/plug
Word OriginMiddle English: from Dutch and Low German kork, from Spanish alcorque ‘cork-soled sandal’, from Arabic al- ‘the’ and (probably) Spanish Arabic qurq, qorq, based on Latin quercus ‘oak, cork oak’.