chord - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com

In music, a chord is three or more notes that combine harmoniously. You can play chords on a piano or guitar, but not on an instrument that plays one note at a time, like a trumpet.

Chord comes from the French word for agreement, accord, so in music it means sounds that go together, or agree with each other. You can also use chord figuratively. If a book "strikes a chord" with you, you feel connected to it. In math, a chord is the straight line that connects two points on a curve.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: chord

1	n v	a combination of three or more notes that blend harmoniously when sounded together play chords on (a string instrument)
2	n	a straight line connecting two points on a curve

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: chord

1

n a combination of three or more notes that blend harmoniously when sounded together

Types:: show 4 types...; hide 4 types...; arpeggio
a chord whose notes are played in rapid succession rather than simultaneously; sforzando
an accented chord; common chord, triad
a three-note major or minor chord; a note and its third and fifth tones; seventh chord
a triad with a seventh added

Type of:: musical note, note, tone
a notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound

v play chords on (a string instrument)

Type of:: play
perform music on (a musical instrument)

v bring into consonance, harmony, or accord while making music or singing

Synonyms:: harmonise, harmonize

Types:: key
regulate the musical pitch of

Type of:: alter, change, modify
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation

2

n a straight line connecting two points on a curve

Type of:: straight line
a line traced by a point traveling in a constant direction; a line of zero curvature