How do you use the word "core" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "core": This is the core of the problem. The proverb's message struck me to the core.

Core Meaning

/kɔː/

Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounIn general usage, an essential part of a thing surrounded by other essential things.

nounIn general usage, an essential part of a thing surrounded by other essential things., The central part of a fruit, containing the kernels or seeds.

Sentence Examples

This is the core of the problem.

The proverb's message struck me to the core.

This report goes to the core of the argument.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

nucleus

Antonyms:

None

CEFR Practice Quiz

The apple's ____ contains the seeds and is typically not eaten.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

This is the ____ of the problem.

Word Origin & History

From Middle English core, kore, coor (“apple-core, pith”), of obscure and uncertain origin. Possibly of native English origin, from Old English *cor, related to Old English *coruc, *corc (diminutive) (> Middle English cork, crok (“core of an apple or other fruit, heart of an onion”)) and Old English corn (“seed", also "grain”); or alternatively perhaps from Old French cuer (“heart”), from Latin cor (“heart”); or from Old French cors (“body”), from Latin corpus (“body”). Compare also Middle English colk, coke, coll (“the heart or centre of an apple or onion, core”), Dutch kern (“core”), German Kern (“core”). See also heart, corpse. Compare typologically Russian серде́чник (serdéčnik), сердцеви́на (serdcevína)) (akin to се́рдце (sérdce), cognate with heart, Latin cor).

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"Reindeer are well suited to the taiga’s frigid winters. They can maintain a thermogradient between body core and the environment of up to 100 degrees, in part because of insulation provided by their fur, and in part because of counter-current vascular heat exchange systems in their legs and nasal passages." — 2013 March 26, Nancy Langston, “Mining the Boreal North”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 2, page 98:

"the core of the square" — 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=1 to 5):

"Jones’ sad eyes betray a pervasive pain his purposefully spare dialogue only hints at, while the perfectly cast Brolin conveys hints of playfulness and warmth while staying true to the craggy stoicism at the character’s core." — 2012 May 24, Nathan Rabin, “Film: Reviews: Men In Black 3”, in The Onion AV Club:

"General vocabulary is often defined as a common core of English words and operationalized as the most frequent words in a balanced and representative corpus of English." — 2018, Clarence Green, James Lambert, “Advancing disciplinary literacy through English for academic purposes: Discipline-specific wordlists, collocations and word families for eight secondary subjects”, in Journal of English for Academic Purposes, volume 35, →DOI, page 107:

"In the engine room, the changing angle dropped the melted core to the deck. The hot mass attacked the steel deck first, burning through that, then the titanium of the hull. Five seconds later the engine room was vented to the sea." — 1984, Tom Clancy, “The Eighth Day: Friday, 10 December”, in The Hunt for Red October, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, →ISBN, pages 194–195:

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