corn
noun
a tall cereal plant, Zea mays, cultivated in many varieties, having a jointed, solid stem and bearing the grain, seeds, or kernels on large ears.
corn
1 American
[kawrn]
/ kɔrn /
noun
-
especially technical and British, maize. Also called Indian corn. a tall cereal plant, Zea mays, cultivated in many varieties, having a jointed, solid stem and bearing the grain, seeds, or kernels on large ears.
-
the grain, seeds, or kernels of this plant, used for human food or for fodder.
-
the ears of this plant.
-
the edible seed of certain other cereal plants, especially wheat in England and oats in Scotland.
-
the plants themselves.
-
Skiing. corn snow.
-
Informal. old-fashioned, trite, or mawkishly sentimental material, as a joke, a story, or music.
verb (used with object)
-
corns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
corned,
past participle, past
-
corning
present participle
-
to preserve and season with salt in grains.
-
to preserve and season with brine.
-
to granulate, as gunpowder.
-
to plant (land) with corn.
-
to feed with corn.
corn
2
American
[kawrn]
/ kɔrn /
noun
Pathology.
-corn
3
American
Corn.
4
American
abbreviation
-
Cornish.
-
Cornwall.
corn
1
British
/ kɔːn /
noun
-
-
any of various cereal plants, esp the predominant crop of a region, such as wheat in England and oats in Scotland and Ireland
-
the seeds of such plants, esp after harvesting
-
a single seed of such plants; a grain
-
-
British equivalent: maize. Also called: Indian corn.
-
a tall annual grass, Zea mays, cultivated for its yellow edible grains, which develop on a spike
-
the grain of this plant, used for food, fodder, and as a source of oil See also sweet corn popcorn
-
-
-
the plants producing these kinds of grain considered as a growing crop
spring corn
-
( in combination )
a cornfield
-
-
short for corn whisky
-
slang an idea, song, etc, regarded as banal or sentimental
-
archaic any hard particle or grain
verb
-
to feed (animals) with corn, esp oats
-
-
to preserve in brine
-
to salt
-
-
to plant corn on
corn
2
British
/ kɔːn /
noun
-
a hardening or thickening of the skin around a central point in the foot, caused by pressure or friction
-
informal to offend or hurt someone by touching on a sensitive subject or encroaching on his privileges
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
cornsimple
-
cornssimple
-
have cornedperfect
-
has cornedperfect
-
am corningprogressive
-
are corningprogressive
-
is corningprogressive
-
have been corningperfect progressive
-
has been corningperfect progressive
Past
-
cornedsimple
-
had cornedperfect
-
was corningprogressive
-
were corningprogressive
-
had been corningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of corn1
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch koren, Old Norse korn, German Korn, Gothic kaúrn; akin to Russian zernó, Latin grānum grain
Origin of corn2
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English corn(e), from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin cornū horn (hence a horny hardening of the cuticle); see origin at cornu
Origin of -corn3
Representing Latin -cornis horned
Explanation
Corn is a plant that grows long ears of kernels on tall, grass-like stalks. Many large farms grow fields of corn each year, for human or animals to eat, or to make corn-based products. Corn is an important crop in North America, since many animals raised for meat eat corn, not to mention the corn that people consume. In addition, products like high fructose corn syrup and ethanol fuel are made from corn. Many people also love to eat corn on the cob slathered with butter in the summer time. In many parts of the world, it's called maize instead of corn, which is an Old English word meaning "grain."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It’s known forhouse-made corn tortillas, pan dulce and ceviches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
Chorizo-chicken corn chowder: Rich, cozy and full of sweet corn, chicken and savory chorizo.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
Most of the dogs had consumed at least some maize, or corn, which was a major food source throughout the pre-Hispanic Andes.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
The corn and soybean farmer watched as prices fell from $7 a bushel for corn in early 2022 to just $4.29 three years later.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
When a working dog’s stomach tightens, as it does when he pulls, the corn becomes like tiny little knives that cut and tear at the insides of his intestines….
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
Some 1929 farm facts: Corn. "2,528,000,000 bushels produced, 308,000,000 less than in 1928 . . . smaller acreage . . . reduced yields."
From Time Magazine Archive
The result is the $31,000,000 American Rediscount Corn., which was to start business in Manhattan last week, after the method of the Federal Reserve banks.
From Time Magazine Archive
How to Winnow Corn. 1st Method.—Get some corn.
From Mr. Punch's Country Life by J. A. (John Alexander) Hammerton
Talk like the vulgar sort of market men That come to gather money for their Corn. 1st Henry VI, act iii, sc.
From The plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare by Henry Nicholson Ellacombe
I directed Sergt Gass & 2 men to accompany him to his Village, they Soon returned loaded with Corn. the Chief and his wife also came down.
From The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 by Meriwether Lewis
And that is how a quack who treats the tender corns on pedicured toes suddenly becomes a world-renowned corn doctor in a show that seemingly never met a pun it didn’t like.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2025
The emperor wore his hat with the corns parallel to shoulders - known as "en bataille" - whereas most of his officers wore their hats perpendicular to the shoulders.
From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2023
Calluses are usually painless, while corns tend to be painful or tender — and are sometimes accompanied by a fluid-filled sac underneath.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 18, 2022
The pills often cause his joints to become stiff and prompt the development of corns, a type of callus made of dead skin - which a doctor in Bismarck freezes off.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 29, 2020
“So, can you get me some dry corns at the store where you work?”
From "Girls Like Us" by Gail Giles
The No. 54 is a pastrami and corned beef combo sandwich, dressed in the style of the No. 19, with Swiss cheese, coleslaw and Russian dressing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
Shelton isn’t a corned beef sandwich at an all-night diner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Dishes she's made range from panackelty, a stew consisting of potatoes, onions and corned beef, to Staffordshire oatcakes, a type of yeasted pancake, and Lancashire hotpot, made with mutton or lamb.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
The corned beef sandwich is one of my personal favorites; it has a certain nostalgia for me.
From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2024
“Nathan’s hot dogs. New York pastrami, corned beef, baked pretzels, NewYork Italian ices, and don’t forget”—he pauses, dramatic—“Manhattan clam chowder.”
From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Corned beef, on the other hand, is salt cured — hence the corning process.
From Salon ● Apr. 12, 2022
Hybrid striped bass are fair with spinners, and highly shaky rattle traps corning bait in shallow water.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 21, 2020
You need only start by corning your own beef.
From New York Times ● Mar. 6, 2017
Senate Floor Leader Barkley also had a long visit, emerged to say that the Administration's legislative program at the corning session of Congress would contain no major departures.
From Time Magazine Archive
She could feel the power of the great creature corning off him like waves of heat “I must work till sunset,” he said.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
