core

/kɔːr/
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The central or essential part of something, something basic and important, the act of removing a fruit's center, a CPU processing unit, or the internet suffix -core.

Examples

  • The company sold several brands to protect its core business.
  • The novel has grief at its emotional core.
  • The Earth's core is made mostly of iron and nickel.
  • Fans used -core to label a dreamy internet look.
  • The game runs better on CPUs with more cores.

Similar words

fundamental
basic
central
trend label
seed
style label
essential
hollow out
key
crux

Meanings

Central or essential part

noun
general
neutral
The middle, innermost, or most important part of something, from a fruit or planet to an idea, group, or problem.

Examples

  • The Earth's core is made mostly of iron and nickel.
  • At the core of the problem was a lack of trust.
  • She threw the apple core into the compost bin.
  • The team's loyal fans formed the core of its support.
  • The novel has grief at its emotional core.

Similar words

Basic and most important

adjective
general
neutral
Used before a noun to describe something central, basic, or most important to a person, group, activity, or system.

Examples

  • The company sold several brands to protect its core business.
  • Respect is one of the school's core values.
  • The report focuses on three core issues.
  • They kept a small core team during the crisis.
  • Reading and writing are core skills in the course.

Similar words

Remove the center from fruit

verb
cooking
neutral
To remove the hard central part or seed area from fruit or vegetables before cooking or eating them.

Examples

  • Core the apples before you slice them for the pie.
  • The recipe says to peel and core the pears.
  • Use a small knife to core each tomato.
  • She cored the peppers and filled them with rice.
  • The machine can core dozens of pineapples in a minute.

Similar words

Processing unit in a CPU

noun
technology
neutral
One processing unit inside a CPU that can run instructions, often counted when describing a processor's capacity.

Examples

  • This laptop has an eight-core processor.
  • Each core can handle a separate thread of work.
  • The game runs better on CPUs with more cores.
  • A faster core is not always better than several efficient cores.
  • The operating system assigns tasks to different cores.

Similar words

Suffix for an aesthetic or trend

noun
internet
informal
A suffix used in informal internet words to label a visual style, mood, trend, or subculture, as in cottagecore or dreamcore.

Examples

  • Cottagecore is a popular -core aesthetic.
  • The suffix -core can turn a style into the name of a trend.
  • Fans used -core to label a dreamy internet look.
  • Not every word ending in -core names a real subculture.
  • The playlist was tagged with several -core labels.

Similar words

Etymology

From Middle English, of uncertain origin. The verb developed from the noun.

FAQ

What does core mean?

Core usually means the center or most essential part of something.

Is core a noun, adjective, or verb?

Core can be a noun, an adjective before another noun, or a verb meaning to remove the center of fruit.

What are core values?

Core values are the basic beliefs or principles that matter most to a person or organization.

What is a CPU core?

A CPU core is a processing unit inside a processor that can run instructions.

What does -core mean in internet words?

-core is a suffix used in informal style labels such as cottagecore, dreamcore, and normcore.

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