corral

[ kuh-ral ]

noun

1. an enclosure or pen for horses, cattle, etc.
2. a circular enclosure formed by wagons during an encampment, as by covered wagons crossing the North American plains in the 19th century, for defense against attack.

verb (used with object)

, cor·ralled, cor·ral·ling.

1. to confine in or as if in a corral.
2. Informal.
   1. to seize; capture.
   2. to collect, gather, or garner:

      to corral votes.

3. to form (wagons) into a corral.

corral

/ kɒˈrɑːl /

noun

1. an enclosure for confining cattle or horses
2. (formerly) a defensive enclosure formed by a ring of covered wagons

verb

1. to drive into and confine in or as in a corral
2. informal.
   to capture

Word History and Origins

Origin of corral¹

1575–85; < Spanish < Late Latin *currāle enclosure for carts, equivalent to Latin curr ( us ) wagon, cart (derivative of currere to run) + -āle, neuter of -ālis -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of corral¹

C16: from Spanish, from Vulgar Latin currāle (unattested) area for vehicles, from Latin currus wagon, from currere to run

Example Sentences

It looks like the shoot-out at the OK Corral in a leafy Eindhoven suburb—but nobody seems to be a very good shot.

From The Daily Beast

And so the reaction seems to be to corral oneself off from disagreement.

From The Daily Beast

How can you corral all your health data in one central repository—effortlessly?

From The Daily Beast

And in the land of livestock and grassland and corral and endless highway, that is more or less everything.

From The Daily Beast

Senator Paul also scorned “labels” and the tendency to corral politicians and thinkers into neat, ideological camps.

From The Daily Beast

A little corral for the sheep, and a rough shed for the pony, and the home was complete: far the prettiest home they had ever had.

From Project Gutenberg

Wal, then he walked up and down, up and down (this all happened out by the calf-corral), and blowed and blowed and blowed.

From Project Gutenberg

There was an adobe house on the flat, a corral, and other evidences of a rather extensive ranch.

From Project Gutenberg

The plows are by the corral, and the first team that comes up is to be harnessed to each in turn.

From Project Gutenberg

Tom was her elder brother and as the girls walked toward the ranch house he crossed the yard from the corral.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• paddock