cortex
/ˈkɔɹtɛks/noun
cortex is spelled C-O-R-T-E-X: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.9 times per million words in written English, the 13,127th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cortex means “The outer layer of an internal organ or body structure, such as the kidney or the brain” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cortex is cortexes or cortices.
How many letters and syllables are in cortex?
| Letters | 6: C-O-R-T-E-X |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.9 times per million words; the 13,127th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is cortex?
Cortex appears 3.9 times per million words in written English, the 13,127th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cortex?
- US /ˈkɔɹtɛks/
- UK /ˈkɔːtɛks/
Cortex has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-cortex.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with cortex?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as cortex from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹtɛks/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of cortex
- cortexes plural
- cortices plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cortex mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The outer layer of an internal organ or body structure, such as the kidney or the brain.
- 2
The tissue of a stem or root that lies inward from the epidermis, but exterior to the vascular tissue.
- 3
The outer surface of a piece of flint.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cortex in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense outer layer of an internal organ or body structure:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cortex come from?
Borrowed from Latin cortex (“cork, bark”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).