the spongy layer of bark of the cork oak, used for making a wide range of products, including bottle stoppers, beverage coasters, fishing rod handles, bulletin boards, sound and heat insulation, and flooring materials.
something made of cork, as produced from the spongy bark of the cork oak.
Bring that cork in here—we’re using it as a dartboard.
a piece of cork, rubber, or the like used as a stopper, as for a bottle.
The cork you gave me is too large for this jug.
Angling. a small float to buoy up a fishing line or to indicate that a fish is biting.
When the cork starts bobbing, you’ve got a fish!
Also called phellem, suber. Botany. an outer tissue of bark produced by and exterior to the phellogen.
to stop with or as if with a cork (often followed byup ).
The bottles are mechanically corked, two dozen at a time.
Cork these up and put them back in the cooler.
to provide or fit with cork or a cork.
They’re tiling floors and corking walls in her new studio.
to blacken with burnt cork.
During war games, they learned to cork their faces when operating under moonlight.
a county in Munster province, in S Republic of Ireland. 2,881 sq. mi. (7,460 sq. km).
a seaport in and the county seat of Cork, in the S part.
the thick light porous outer bark of the cork oak, used widely as an insulator and for stoppers for bottles, casks, etc
a piece of cork or other material used as a stopper
an angling float
Also called: phellem. botany a protective layer of dead impermeable cells on the outside of the stems and roots of woody plants, produced by the outer layer of the cork cambium
to stop up (a bottle, cask, etc) with or as if with a cork; fit with a cork
(often foll by up) to restrain
to cork up the emotions
to black (the face, hands, etc) with burnt cork
a county of SW Republic of Ireland, in Munster province: crossed by ridges of low mountains; scenic coastline. County town: Cork. Pop: 447 829 (2002). Area: 7459 sq km (2880 sq miles)
a city and port in S Republic of Ireland, county town of Co Cork, at the mouth of the River Lee: seat of the University College of Cork (1849). Pop: 186 239 (2002)
The outermost layer of tissue in woody plants that is resistant to the passage of water vapor and gases and that becomes the bark. Cork is secondary tissue, formed on the outside of the tissue layer known as cork cambium. The cell walls of cork cells contain suberin. Once they mature, cork cells die.
Also called phellem
The lightweight, elastic outer bark of the cork oak, which grows near the Mediterranean Sea. Cork is used for bottle stoppers, insulation, and other products.
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English cork(e), of disputed origin; perhaps via Dutch or German from Old Spanish alcorque “cork shoe,” ultimately from dialectal Arabic qurq, perhaps from Latin quercus “oak” ( see also fir ( def. )); alternatively, instead from Spanish corcho, from Mozarabic, from Latin cortex “bark” ( see cortex ( def. ))
Cork is a lightweight material made from the bark of a particular kind of oak tree. Cork is used in all sorts of ways, from flooring to fishing rod handles to bulletin boards. When cork bark is harvested from a cork oak tree, it doesn't harm the tree itself — this quality is part of what makes cork a useful, renewable material. It shows up in shoes, insulation, wall tiles, and badminton shuttlecocks, as well as bottle stoppers, which are also called corks. The word is from the Spanish alcorque, "cork-soled sandal," which ultimately comes from the Latin name for the cork oak tree, quercus.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One might even stop to see a factory of cork wine-stoppers in action.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
When Farahanipour heard about Khamenei’s death, he popped the cork from a champagne bottle and celebrated “the happiest moment of my life.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 2026
A double cork is a complex and technical trick in skiing which includes two off-axis flips.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
The two countries constitute a geographical cork on Central Asia’s westward trade routes and pipelines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
Then he unwinds the wire top and pops the cork.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Its Irish operations also include a virtual and augmented reality business in Cork and a data centre outside Dublin.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
This dream home sits on a former sea-urchin farm in the wilds of Ireland’s West Cork.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
The Ed Sheeran Foundation is initially funding North South Sounds 2026, which is bringing 50 young musicians from Belfast and Cork together.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Originally from Dublin, he sold his house in 2009 and has been rewilding his farm in Cork ever since.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
Although the Earl of Cork was almost a model landlord, most of his English counterparts treated the Irish so harshly that some sort of rebellion was inevitable, and it happened to break out in 1641.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
Some winemakers place microchips under labels and corks that detect bottle tampering.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
Hollywood stars embraced and champagne corks popped at this year's Oscars nominee lunch, the glamorous pre-show gathering that was canceled amid last year's devastating Los Angeles wildfires.
From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026
There may well be a few sighs of relief from senior finance company and banking executives following the Supreme Court's ruling, but it is unlikely you will hear the champagne corks popping.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2025
There was no champagne, or popping of corks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 1, 2024
But even from above there was no mistaking that long, dirty-blonde hair, nor the necklace of butterbeer corks...
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
When the priceless liquid is poured, the group is horrified by the odor: The wine is corked.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
PCC has great customer service; I purchased this Bordeaux at its Green Lake branch and was able to return the corked bottle at its Central District branch, no questions asked.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2024
Among the artefacts discovered were are a gunpowder barrel, swivel guns, a bottle of corked rum and woodworking tools.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2022
They had corked over their whole faces, so there wasn’t a fat slab of clown red lip among them, nor a too-white eye, nor a grin, nor a shuck.
From New York Times ● Nov. 11, 2020
Patrice corked the blood vial and went for his jacket.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
A corking Nancy Drew tale set in 1960s Galicia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2023
“It’s always been part of the game,” he said, “just like hitters have always been corking their bats.”
From Washington Post ● Dec. 1, 2022
The warts on their outside are called "corking," as horticulturalist Jessica Walliser said on WNYC.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2022
I was put off slightly by this cruelty-free brand’s teenybopper packaging, but with perseverance I have found some corking products.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 15, 2017
They were, he said unambiguously, “the finest I ever saw seated in a shell. And I’ve seen some corking boatloads.”
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
