corner

[ kawr-ner ]
See synonyms for: cornercornered on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the place at which two converging lines or surfaces meet.

  2. the space between two converging lines or surfaces near their intersection; angle: a chair in the corner of the room.

  1. a projecting angle, especially of a rectangular figure or object: He bumped into the corner of the table.

  2. the point where two streets meet: the corner of Market and Main Streets.

  3. an end; margin; edge.

  4. any narrow, secluded, or secret place.

  5. an awkward or embarrassing position, especially one from which escape is impossible.

  6. Finance. a monopolizing or a monopoly of the available supply of a stock or commodity to a point permitting control of price (applied only when monopoly price is exacted).

  7. region; part; quarter: from every corner of the empire.

  8. Surveying.

    • the point of intersection of the section lines of a land survey, often marked by a monument or some object, as a pipe that is set or driven into the ground.: Compare section (def. 5).

    • a stake, tree, or rock marking the intersection of property lines.

  9. a piece to protect the corner of anything.

  10. Usually the corners .Baseball. first base or third base: Votto is out on strikes for the third out, and the Reds leave runners on the corners.

  11. Baseball.

    • any point on the line forming the left or right boundary of home plate: a pitch on the corner.

    • the area formed by the intersection of the foul line and the outfield fence.

  12. Boxing.

    • the immediate area formed by any of the four angles in the ring.

    • one of the two assigned corners where a boxer rests between rounds and behind which the handlers sit during a fight.

  13. Soccer. corner kick.

adjective
  1. situated on or at a corner where two streets meet: a corner drugstore.

  2. made to fit or be used in a corner: a corner cabinet.

verb (used with object)
  1. to furnish with corners.

  2. to place in or drive into a corner.

  1. to force into an awkward or difficult position or one from which escape is impossible: He finally cornered the thief.

  2. to gain control of (a stock, commodity, etc.).

verb (used without object)
  1. to meet in or be situated on or at a corner.

  2. to form a corner in a stock or commodity.

  1. (of an automobile) to turn, especially at a speed relatively high for the angle of the turn involved.

Idioms about corner

  1. cut corners,

    • to use a shorter route.

    • to reduce costs or care in execution: cutting corners to meet the foreign competition.

  2. rough corners, rude, boorish, or unsophisticated characteristics, manners, or the like: Despite his rough corners, he was very likable.

  1. the four corners of the earth, the most distant or remote regions: They traveled to the four corners of the earth.

  2. turn the corner, to pass through a crisis safely: When the fever passed, we knew he had turned the corner.

Origin of corner

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Old French cornier(e), “a corner,” from Vulgar Latin corna, Latin cornua, plural of cornū “(animal) horn” + -er noun suffix; see origin at horn; see also cornu)

Other words for corner

Words Nearby corner

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use corner in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for corner (1 of 2)

corner

/ (ˈkɔːnə) /


noun
  1. the place, position, or angle formed by the meeting of two converging lines or surfaces

  2. a projecting angle of a solid object or figure

  1. the place where two streets meet

  2. any small, secluded, secret, or private place

  3. a dangerous or awkward position, esp from which escape is difficult: a tight corner

  4. any part, region or place, esp a remote place

  5. something used to protect or mark a corner, as of the hard cover of a book

  6. commerce a monopoly over the supply of a commodity so that its market price can be controlled

  7. soccer hockey a free kick or shot from the corner of the field, taken against a defending team when the ball goes out of play over their goal line after last touching one of their players

  8. either of two opposite angles of a boxing ring in which the opponents take their rests

  9. mountaineering a junction between two rock faces forming an angle of between 60° and 120°: US name: dihedral

  10. cut corners to do something in the easiest and shortest way, esp at the expense of high standards

  11. round the corner or just round the corner close at hand

  12. turn the corner to pass the critical point (in an illness, etc)

  13. (modifier) located on a corner: a corner shop

  14. (modifier) suitable or designed for a corner: a corner table

  15. logic either of a pair of symbols used in the same way as ordinary quotation marks to indicate quasi quotation: See quasi-quotation

verb
  1. (tr) to manoeuvre (a person or animal) into a position from which escape is difficult or impossible: finally they cornered the fox

  2. (tr) to furnish or provide with corners

  1. (tr) to place in or move into a corner

  2. (tr)

    • to acquire enough of (a commodity) to attain control of the market

    • Also: engross to attain control of (a market) in such a manner: Compare forestall (def. 3)

  3. (intr) (of vehicles, etc) to turn a corner

  4. (intr) US to be situated on a corner

  5. (intr) (in soccer, etc) to take a corner

Origin of corner

1
C13: from Old French corniere, from Latin cornū point, extremity, horn

British Dictionary definitions for Corner (2 of 2)

Corner

noun
  1. the Corner informal an area in central Australia, at the junction of the borders of Queensland and South Australia

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with corner

corner

In addition to the idiom beginning with corner

  • corner the market

also see:

  • around the corner
  • cut corners
  • four corners of the earth
  • in a tight corner
  • out of the corner of one's eye
  • paint oneself into a corner
  • turn the corner

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.