corn
noun
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.
corn
1 American
[kawrn]
/ kɔrn /
noun
-
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.
-
the grain, seeds, or kernels of this plant, used for human food or for fodder.
-
the ears of this plant.
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the edible seed of certain other cereal plants, especially wheat in England and oats in Scotland.
-
the plants themselves.
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Skiing. corn snow.
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Informal. old-fashioned, trite, or mawkishly sentimental material, as a joke, a story, or music.
verb (used with object)
-
corns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
corned,
past participle, past
-
corning
present participle
-
to preserve and season with salt in grains.
-
to preserve and season with brine.
-
to granulate, as gunpowder.
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to plant (land) with corn.
-
to feed with corn.
corn
2
American
[kawrn]
/ kɔrn /
noun
Pathology.
-corn
3
American
Corn.
4
American
abbreviation
-
Cornish.
-
Cornwall.
corn
1
British
/ kɔːn /
noun
-
-
any of various cereal plants, esp the predominant crop of a region, such as wheat in England and oats in Scotland and Ireland
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the seeds of such plants, esp after harvesting
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a single seed of such plants; a grain
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British equivalent: maize. Also called: Indian corn.
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a tall annual grass, Zea mays, cultivated for its yellow edible grains, which develop on a spike
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the grain of this plant, used for food, fodder, and as a source of oil See also sweet corn popcorn
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-
-
the plants producing these kinds of grain considered as a growing crop
spring corn
-
( in combination )
a cornfield
-
-
short for corn whisky
-
slang an idea, song, etc, regarded as banal or sentimental
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archaic any hard particle or grain
verb
-
to feed (animals) with corn, esp oats
-
-
to preserve in brine
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to salt
-
-
to plant corn on
corn
2
British
/ kɔːn /
noun
-
a hardening or thickening of the skin around a central point in the foot, caused by pressure or friction
-
informal to offend or hurt someone by touching on a sensitive subject or encroaching on his privileges
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cornsimple
-
cornssimple
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have cornedperfect
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has cornedperfect
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am corningprogressive
-
are corningprogressive
-
is corningprogressive
-
have been corningperfect progressive
-
has been corningperfect progressive
Past
-
cornedsimple
-
had cornedperfect
-
was corningprogressive
-
were corningprogressive
-
had been corningperfect progressive
Future
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); see origin at cornu
Origin of -corn3
Representing Latin -cornis horned
Explanation
Corn is a plant that grows long ears of kernels on tall, grass-like stalks. Many large farms grow fields of corn each year, for human or animals to eat, or to make corn-based products. Corn is an important crop in North America, since many animals raised for meat eat corn, not to mention the corn that people consume. In addition, products like high fructose corn syrup and ethanol fuel are made from corn. Many people also love to eat corn on the cob slathered with butter in the summer time. In many parts of the world, it's called maize instead of corn, which is an Old English word meaning "grain."
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.
See Examples For:
Adding sugar was against John’s dietary principles, but William bought the recipe from his brother, added cane sugar to the mix, and created a company to make and market corn flakes in 1906.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child is recording songs about candy corn.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
The economy of the state, with 3 million inhabitants and significant corn and tomato crops, has declined due to the violence.
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
The researchers process PET plastic, discarded corn stalks and leaves, and other biomass using a proprietary technique known as oxidative hydrothermal dissolution.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
“Just before I left the barn, I peeked in the corn crib,” he said.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Some 1929 farm facts: Corn. "2,528,000,000 bushels produced, 308,000,000 less than in 1928 . . . smaller acreage . . . reduced yields."
From Time Magazine Archive
The result is the $31,000,000 American Rediscount Corn., which was to start business in Manhattan last week, after the method of the Federal Reserve banks.
From Time Magazine Archive
These Ears of Corn. gathered and rubbed in my hands upon broken Sabbaths, I offer first to my Wife, and then to my other Friends.
From Unspoken Sermons Series I., II., and II. by George MacDonald
Talk like the vulgar sort of market men That come to gather money for their Corn. 1st Henry VI, act iii, sc.
From The plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare by Henry Nicholson Ellacombe
How to Winnow Corn. 1st Method.—Get some corn.
From Mr. Punch's Country Life by J. A. (John Alexander) Hammerton
It’s built around the idea of a tale of two corns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2024
The emperor wore his hat with the corns parallel to shoulders - known as "en bataille" - whereas most of his officers wore their hats perpendicular to the shoulders.
From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2023
As for nutrition, 19 candy corns amount to about 140 calories and 28 grams of sugar.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 24, 2023
“This was the beginning of a whole line of prolific corns, and what really struck me was that it was only one person still growing it,” Shields said.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 25, 2019
If anyone seemed alive at the moment it was the serene Amaranta, who had even had enough time to cut her corns.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Shelton isn’t a corned beef sandwich at an all-night diner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
People were stealing "absolutely anything" including "tins of spam, tins of corned beef, all the fresh meat", Ms Whitehead told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2024
Though a corned beef and cabbage plate may be synonymous with St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the U.S., the dish is more rooted in Irish-American culture than traditional Irish culture.
From Salon ● Mar. 16, 2024
“We would do corned beef tacos over there,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2023
Grandpa Ed’s corned beef and hash looks like the many blobs of roadkill Annabelle has seen.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
Corned beef, on the other hand, is salt cured — hence the corning process.
From Salon ● Apr. 12, 2022
Hybrid striped bass are fair with spinners, and highly shaky rattle traps corning bait in shallow water.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 21, 2020
You need only start by corning your own beef.
From New York Times ● Mar. 6, 2017
Shortly after he emerged from the operating room following six hours of surgery at Manhattan's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center last week, Hubert Humphrey asked his wife, "Muriel, how are the polls corning out in Minnesota?"
From Time Magazine Archive
She could feel the power of the great creature corning off him like waves of heat “I must work till sunset,” he said.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
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.
