cornered

[kawr-nerd]

adjective

1. having corners (usually used in combination).

   a six-cornered room.

2. having a given number of positions; sided (usually used in combination).

   a four-cornered debate.

3. forced into an awkward, embarrassing, or inescapable position.

   a cornered debater; a cornered fox.

Other Word Forms

• uncornered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cornered¹

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; corner, -ed ³

Example Sentences

He is the proverbial New York sewer rat, cornered and lashing out in a desperate attempt to survive.

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The president has cornered the market on Christians, the rural poor, the working class and the undereducated.

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Playing outlaws on the run, cornered men whose time had passed, bickering and bantering like an old married couple who can’t imagine a life without each other, they’re perfect together.

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The district, for example, cornered the local market on computers to send home with students, quickly buying them ahead of other school systems.

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They also cornered a U.S. citizen, Brian Gavidia, who is now part of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of these stops.

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