From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishchordchord /kɔːd $ kɔːrd/ ●●○ noun [countable] 1 APMa combination of several musical notes that are played at the same time and sound pleasant together2 → strike/touch a chord (with somebody)3 HM technical a straight line joining two points on a curve ► Do not confuse with cord (=thick string), which has the same pronunciation.
Examples from the Corpus
chord• This struck a deep chord with me, and I wish we could sit and talk about it.• In contrast, he provided passages of descending chords for Kostchei.• Our examples have been confined to simple homophonic chords in which all the notes sound together.• In a region where infant mortality is high, the argument struck a responsive chord.• Occasionally the chords flow together; a melody seems to be hovering just on the edge.• The difference between the pairs is whether or not the vocal chords are used in making the sound or not.• In writing chords for the harp, the two hands should be kept close together, and the chords well filled in.Origin chord 1. (1400-1500) accord2. (1500-1600) cord; influenced by Latin chorda ( → CORD) (3. chord “string of a musical instrument” ((17-19 centuries))) 