noun

cohort

KOH-hort

Cohort (noun) means a group of people who share a defining characteristic, especially starting something at the same time, and who are studied or tracked together. Example: “The 2024 cohort of trainees was the largest the hospital has taken.”

noun

research and education A group of people who share a defining characteristic, especially starting something at the same time, and who are studied or tracked together.

"The 2024 cohort of trainees was the largest the hospital has taken."

"Researchers followed a cohort of ten thousand children born in the same week."

informal, often disapproving A companion or supporter, especially one of a group backing a particular person.

"The mayor arrived with two of his closest cohorts."

"He and his cohorts were escorted from the building."

historical A unit of a Roman legion, made up of several hundred soldiers.

"Three cohorts were sent to hold the river crossing."

How to use cohort

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA group of people who go through something together, or a person's close associates.

When to use it

The group sense is standard in research writing; the single-companion sense is informal and some careful writers still object to it.

Memory tip

In research a cohort is one group made of many people, so avoid using cohort to mean one individual in formal prose.

Trace the full origin ↓

Easily confused with

consort → escort → contingent → peer group

Common pairings

a cohort of students cohort study birth cohort the incoming cohort his cohorts

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The 2024 _____ of trainees was the largest the hospital has taken.

Etymology

From Latin cohors, cohort- meaning an enclosure or a company of soldiers; a cohort was one tenth of a Roman legion.

Origin: Latin

Synonyms

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group intake batch year group class associate accomplice ally henchman

Related words

family team group course kind friend class education

Frequently asked questions

Can cohort mean one person?

In casual use yes, meaning a companion or accomplice, as in one of his cohorts. Traditionally the word named a group, so this singular use is still avoided in formal and academic writing.

What is a cohort study?

It is a study that identifies a group sharing a characteristic, such as being born in the same year or taking the same drug, and follows them over time to see what happens. It differs from a case-control study, which starts from the outcome and looks backwards.

What is the difference between a cohort and a generation?

A generation is a broad, loosely defined age band spanning roughly two decades. A cohort is defined precisely by a shared event or start date, such as everyone enrolling in September, and can be as short as a single week.

What is the meaning of cohort?

"cohort" (noun) means a group of people who share a defining characteristic, especially starting something at the same time, and who are studied or tracked together.

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