cohort

Meanings

1. 1nouncountabletechnical

   A group of people sharing a characteristic, such as birth year, who are studied or tracked together.

   Grammar: Takes a plural in research contexts; often followed by of or a defining phrase.

   Patterns

   • a cohort of students
   • study a cohort
   • track a cohort over time

   Researchers followed a cohort of smokers for twenty years.

   The 2015 cohort graduated during the recession.

   A birth cohort can reveal long-term health trends.

2. 2nouncountableinformaldisapproving

   A companion or associate, often one who joins in an activity and may share blame.

   Grammar: Informal; often plural and slightly negative when suggesting accomplices.

   Patterns

   • a cohort of someone
   • someone and their cohorts
   • a political cohort

   The mayor arrived with his usual cohort of advisers.

   Police arrested the thief and two cohorts.

   She dismissed the rumor as gossip from a rival cohort.

Word forms

Common combinations

birth cohort

The birth cohort was surveyed every five years.

study cohort

The study cohort included 2,000 nurses.

cohort study

A cohort study tracked diet and heart disease.

age cohort

Each age cohort answered different questions.

Synonyms and how they differ

group

Group is neutral and general; cohort suggests a defined shared feature, often for study.

contingent

Contingent can mean a representative group sent for a purpose, not a tracked statistical group.

accomplice

Accomplice specifically means a partner in wrongdoing; cohort can be neutral or merely informal.

companion

Companion is neutral for a person who goes with someone; cohort can imply alliance or blame.

Opposites

Word family

cohort analysis noun

A method comparing groups that share a starting point over time.

Commonly confused: cohort or cohabit? cohort or cohort?

Practice

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