cohorts
cohorts — noun
- cohortssingular
- cohortsesplural
1. a set of individuals defined by the same starting point in time — such as birth
a set of individuals defined by the same starting point in time — such as birth year, graduation year, or year of diagnosis — and studied together as a unit in research
Eli's birth cohort — all the babies born in Osaka in 1972 — was tracked by researchers for three decades.
birth cohort — common collocation
The youngest age cohort in the study earned half what those born ten years earlier made.
age cohorts — demographic grouping
Shanti's thesis examined a cohort of women who entered university in the 1990s.
Each new cohort of nursing students at Fatima's college arrived with stronger digital skills than the year before.
Public health officials monitored a cohort of workers exposed to the same chemical.
- generation
broader and less precise; spans 20–30 years rather than a specific shared starting point
- age group
simpler everyday term; does not imply a shared life event or study framework
- peer group
smaller and more personal; implies direct social interaction among members
文法句型
cohort of + [group defined by shared trait]
用法筆記
Frequently used in academic and medical research. A cohort is defined by a shared starting point in time — such as birth year or diagnosis year — not merely by falling within the same age range.
常見錯誤
2. the band of followers who rally around a particular leader or powerful figure, o
the band of followers who rally around a particular leader or powerful figure, offering steady loyalty and backing — often used in politics and business
The senator arrived with a loyal cohort of aides who had served her for years.
loyal cohort of + aides — political context
João built a small cohort of investors who believed in his company vision.
The prime minister's cohort of advisers met every morning to plan the day's message.
A cohort of young climate activists gathered outside the courthouse with hand-painted signs backing the new emissions law.
The president lost his cohort of trusted ministers and struggled to push through reforms.
- entourage
emphasises physical accompaniment; less about ideological loyalty
- followers
less formal and less cohesive; can be passive rather than actively backing someone
- loyalists
more explicitly political; implies unwavering allegiance often in a conflict
- backers
emphasises financial or material support rather than personal devotion
- opponents
those who actively work against the leader rather than supporting them
文法句型
cohort of + [supporters / followers]
用法筆記
Often implies personal loyalty cultivated over time. Distinguish from sense 1: here the group is bound by allegiance to an individual, not by a shared demographic trait.
3. in the army of ancient Rome, one of the ten subdivisions of a legion, each with
in the army of ancient Rome, one of the ten subdivisions of a legion, each with roughly 480 foot soldiers; more broadly, any band of warriors fighting together
At dawn, the centurion inspected his cohort — all 480 legionaries standing at attention with shields polished and spear tips glinting.
a Roman cohort — 480 soldiers under one centurion
Lucas set his novel in 52 BCE, following a cohort of Roman legionaries as they crossed the Alps into Gaul.
The commander ordered the third cohort to hold the left flank at all costs.
The sixth cohort dug into the hillside at dawn, each legionary knowing the enemy cavalry would charge from the east.
After marching twenty miles through mud and rain, the exhausted cohort finally made camp beside the river at nightfall.
文法句型
cohort of + [soldiers / warriors]
用法筆記
Primarily historical. In modern English, this sense appears mainly in fiction, military history writing, or descriptions of ancient Rome. Most everyday uses of cohort belong to sense 1 or sense 2.