ENGLISH
REFERENCE

cohort

n. countable
C1 Advanced US //ˈkoʊhɔɹt// UK //kˈəʊhɔːt// co·hort Archaic Slang

n. a group of people who share a specific characteristic or experience during a particular period of time. You might hear this word when talking about students who start university together or soldiers who serve in the same unit.

n. a group of individuals sharing a defining characteristic or experience within a specified timeframe. Commonly used in academic, statistical, and military contexts to denote a cohort of students, patients, or soldiers.


SIMPLE

The 2020 cohort graduated with high honors.

CONTEXTUAL

Researchers tracked the health outcomes of this cohort over twenty years to study the effects of diet.

COMPLEX

The longitudinal study followed the birth cohort from infancy into adulthood, revealing significant correlations between early childhood education and later socioeconomic status.

Origin

From Latin cohors (stem cohort-); borrowed into Old English as coorta, but reintroduced into Middle English as cōhort and chōors via Old French cohorte. Doublet of court.

© 2026 English Reference