corn

¹ American  

[kawrn] / kɔrn /

noun

1. 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.

2. the grain, seeds, or kernels of this plant, used for human food or for fodder.

3. the ears of this plant.

4. the edible seed of certain other cereal plants, especially wheat in England and oats in Scotland.

5. the plants themselves.

6. sweet corn.

7. corn whiskey.

8. Skiing. corn snow.

9. Informal. old-fashioned, trite, or mawkishly sentimental material, as a joke, a story, or music.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to preserve and season with salt in grains.

2. to preserve and season with brine.

3. to granulate, as gunpowder.

4. to plant (land) with corn.

5. to feed with corn.

corn ² American  

[kawrn] / kɔrn /

noun

Pathology.

1. a horny induration or callosity of the epidermis, usually with a central core, formed especially on the toes or feet and caused by undue pressure or friction.

---

-corn ³ American  

1. a combining form meaning “having a horn,” of the kind specified by the initial element.

   longicorn.

---

Corn. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. Cornish.

2. Cornwall.

---

corn ¹ British  

/ kɔːn /

noun

1. 1. any of various cereal plants, esp the predominant crop of a region, such as wheat in England and oats in Scotland and Ireland

   2. the seeds of such plants, esp after harvesting

   3. a single seed of such plants; a grain

2. British equivalent: maize.  Also called: Indian corn. 

   1. a tall annual grass, Zea mays, cultivated for its yellow edible grains, which develop on a spike

   2. the grain of this plant, used for food, fodder, and as a source of oil See also sweet corn popcorn

3. 1. the plants producing these kinds of grain considered as a growing crop

      spring corn

   2. ( in combination )

      a cornfield

4. short for corn whisky

5. slang an idea, song, etc, regarded as banal or sentimental

6. archaic any hard particle or grain

---

verb

1. to feed (animals) with corn, esp oats

2. 1. to preserve in brine

   2. to salt

3. to plant corn on

corn ² British  

/ kɔːn /

noun

1. a hardening or thickening of the skin around a central point in the foot, caused by pressure or friction

2. informal to offend or hurt someone by touching on a sensitive subject or encroaching on his privileges

---

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); cornu

Origin of -corn³

Representing Latin -cornis horned

Example Sentences

He said he already had paid $50,000 more than last year to fertilize his corn fields in the past 30 days.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

My great-grandmother’s diary reveals a girl ecstatic to grow corn for our troops.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Soybean futures traded on Chicago Board of Trade for May delivery have fallen nearly 5% since March 13, while corn futures have gained 7% since Feb. 20, according to FactSet.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

House-made corn tortillas, and your choice of lamb, goat, or beef birria, served traditionally or as grilled cheesy tacos with a dipping consommé.

From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026

Lines of old corn stubble planted in some earlier year rode the eroding rises.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Related Words

• abscess
• blister
• bruise
• bump
• contusion
• inflammation
• injury
• nodule
• sore
• tumor
• welt