Definition of: core

(kôr, kōr) noun
1. The central or innermost part of a thing.
2. The heart, as of an apple or pear, containing the seeds.
3. The most important part of anything; the pith of a subject.
4. A solid form placed in a mold, about which metal is poured, so as to be cast hollow.
5. Electr. a The insulated conducting wires of an electric cable. b The iron mass or bundle of iron rods, etc., around which the wire is coiled in an electromagnet or armature.
6. Engin. In submarine and geological investigations, a cylindrical mass of test material brought to the surface by a special hollow drill.
7. In fingerprint identification, the inner terminus or focal point which constitutes the approximate center of a pattern and is essential to its correct interpretation.
8. Anthropol. A type of Paleolithic stone implement consisting of a central mass of a rock, shaped for use in one of several standard forms, chiefly hand–axes.
—v.t. cored, cor·ing To remove the core of. ♦ Homophone: corps. [Origin uncertain]
—core′less adjective
—cor′er noun