corps
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
a large branch of the military that does a specific job, or a group of two or more divisions.
a specialized branch of the armed forces or a tactical unit consisting of two or more divisions. The 's' is silent in the singular form.
Simple“He joined the Marine Corps right after finishing high school.”
In context“The general commanded a corps consisting of three infantry divisions and an armored brigade during the spring offensive.”
UsageThe singular and plural are spelled identically, but the singular is pronounced /kɔːr/ and the plural /kɔːrz/.
PitfallThe army sent two corp to the border. The army sent two corps to the border.The word 'corps' is spelled with an 's' in both the singular and plural forms.
- 02 C1 Advanced
a group of people who work together in a specific profession or for a common goal.
an organized body of people associated by a common profession or purpose.
Simple“The diplomatic corps attended the ceremony to represent their countries.”
In context“The press corps waited outside the courthouse for hours, hoping to catch a glimpse of the defendant after the verdict.”
UsageOften used in fixed phrases like 'diplomatic corps' or 'press corps'.
Synonyms - 03 C2 Proficiency
the group of dancers in a ballet company who dance together as a background for the main stars.
the members of a ballet company who dance together as a group and do not perform as soloists.
Simple“She started her career in the corps de ballet before becoming a lead dancer.”
In context“The precision of the corps de ballet during the second act was praised by every critic in attendance.”
UsageUsually appears in the full French phrase 'corps de ballet'.
- 04 C2 Proficiency
an old way of spelling 'corpse', meaning a dead body.
an obsolete orthographic variant of 'corpse'.
Simple“In the old story, the knight found a cold corps lying in the forest.”
In context“The poet lamented over the lifeless corps of his fallen comrade, using the archaic spelling to evoke a sense of history.”
“He was only able to do it because he qualified for student loan forgiveness through the National Health Service Corps.”
“Failed uprising in Niamey exposed tensions in Niger’s military, and the role of the Africa Corps in suppressing unrest.”
From French corps d'armée (literally “army body”), from Latin corpus (“body”). Doublet of corpse and corpus. See also English riff.
Clipping.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.