adj
hardcore
hahd-KAW
adj
1
Deeply committed or dedicated to something, often to an extreme degree.
"He's a hardcore fan who has been to every game this season."
noun
1
A fast, aggressive genre of punk or electronic music.
"The band started out playing hardcore in small clubs before going mainstream."
How to Use Hardcore
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishExtremely dedicated or intense, or a genre of aggressive music.
When to use it
Also used as a blunt term for explicit sexual content — context makes the meaning clear.
Common pairings
hardcore fan
hardcore punk
go hardcore
Word Forms
more hardcore comparative, most hardcore superlative
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Etymology
From hard plus core, literally "hard at the core" — first used in the 1930s and adopted as slang for intensity by the 1950s.