corps

[ kawr ]

noun

, plural corps [kawrz].

1. Military.
   1. a military organization consisting of officers and enlisted personnel or of officers alone: corps of cadets.

      the U.S. Marine Corps;

      corps of cadets.

   2. Also called army corps. a military unit of ground combat forces consisting of two or more divisions and other troops.
2. a group of persons associated or acting together:

   the diplomatic corps;

   the press corps.

   Synonyms: band, crew, force, team

3. Printing. a Continental designation that, preceded by a number, indicates size of type in Didot points of 0.0148 inch (3.8 millimeters):

   14 corps.

4. Obsolete. corpse.

corps

/ kɔː /

noun

1. a military formation that comprises two or more divisions and additional support arms
2. a military body with a specific function

   intelligence corps

   medical corps

3. a body of people associated together

   the diplomatic corps

Word History and Origins

Origin of corps¹

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English corps, cors, from Middle French, from Latin corpus “body”; corpse

Word History and Origins

Origin of corps¹

C18: from French, from Latin corpus body

Example Sentences

In one verse, Saldaña sings/raps Spanish lyrics that translate to: “The chemist, he recently had his business partner and family killed / All to the slaughter! / And what did they do with the corpses? / Acid!”

From Los Angeles Times

Shklyarov knew he thrived as a solo dancer, noting in interviews that he had struggled to adjust and follow lines in corps de ballet roles.

From Los Angeles Times

His grassroots campaign was driven by a corps of volunteers who had served time in prison.

From Los Angeles Times

Unlike the drug war in Mexico, however, there were no headless corpses hanging off bridges.

From Salon

How about the state’s wildly successful citizen volunteer corps that is building community and compassion — and is being copied across the country?

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• band
• body
• contingent
• crew
• detachment
• division
• squad
• squadron
• troop
• troupe
• unit