1
a
: an ornamental cord or ribbon
untied the cordon that fastened his cloak
b
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
cordoned; cordoning; cordons
: 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.
Examples of cordon in a Sentence
Noun
A cordon of police kept protesters away from the building.
Recent Examples on the Web
Reuters, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2025
Firefighters safely evacuated 29 people from neighboring properties and, as a precaution, established a 200-meter cordon with around 150 people evacuated.
—Jack Moore, ABC News, 21 Mar. 2025
Caitlin Penzeymoog, Vox, 4 Sep. 2024
Unlike many defensive coordinators who cordon themselves off in the faraway comfort of the press box, Lynn sees everything from the sideline.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2023
See All Example Sentences for cordon
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Noun
Late on Thursday, police fired water cannons and made numerous arrests as scuffles broke out during the protests in Tel Aviv and close to the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem, where police said dozens of protesters tried to break through security cordons.
—Reuters, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2025
Firefighters safely evacuated 29 people from neighboring properties and, as a precaution, established a 200-meter cordon with around 150 people evacuated.
—Jack Moore, ABC News, 21 Mar. 2025
Verb
This keeps it front of mind and cordons it off from other food.
—Caitlin Penzeymoog, Vox, 4 Sep. 2024
Unlike many defensive coordinators who cordon themselves off in the faraway comfort of the press box, Lynn sees everything from the sideline.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2023
See All Example Sentences for cordon
Cite this Entry
“Cordon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cordon. Accessed 29 Mar. 2025.
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