corporate
Americanadjective
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of, for, or belonging to a corporation or corporations: She considers the new federal subsidy just corporate welfare.
a corporate executive;
She considers the new federal subsidy just corporate welfare.
-
forming a corporation.
-
pertaining to a united group, as of persons.
the corporate good.
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united or combined into one.
noun
adjective
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forming a corporation; incorporated
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of or belonging to a corporation or corporations
corporate finance
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of or belonging to a united group; joint
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of corporate
First recorded in 1350–1400 for verb senses; 1505–15 for adjective senses; Middle English corporaten, from Latin corporātus, past participle of corporāre “to incorporate”; see incorporate 1
Explanation
Corporate means having to do with a corporation. Playing golf can be a part of corporate culture. A corporate jet is one owned by the company and used for company business. When people refer to corporate as a noun, as in "I have to ask corporate," it's actually just a shortening of "corporate headquarters." People tend to be on their best behavior at work, where money and advancement are on the line. Therefore, corporate behavior is often associated with being eager to please those in authority.
Vocabulary lists containing corporate
Body Language: Corp ("Body")
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Class Act
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The Skin I'm In
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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.
"At the end of the day, success is the delivery of a scalable quantum computer," said Dr Chetan Nayak, Technical Fellow and Corporate Vice President, Quantum Hardware, Microsoft.
From BBC • Jun. 24, 2026
Corporate customers have reeled at the real costs of AI, which they discovered after Anthropic and other firms migrated from flat subscription fees to “per-token” fees, which charge by usage.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 23, 2026
Corporate bonds and Treasuries are also different animals.
From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026
Corporate investors are also in the mix, sometimes to hedge their bets or fund their customers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
“You can talk?” the Person from Corporate asked.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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Definitions 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.