corporate
Americanadjective
-
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.
-
united or combined into one.
noun
adjective
-
forming a corporation; incorporated
-
of or belonging to a corporation or corporations
corporate finance
-
of or belonging to a united group; joint
Other Word Forms
- anticorporate adjective
- anticorporately adverb
- anticorporateness noun
- corporately adverb
- corporateness noun
- intercorporate adjective
- noncorporate adjective
- noncorporately adverb
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”; 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.
Under Italian corporate rules, shareholders vote for competing slates of directors rather than individual candidates.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
Nursery owner, 55 year-old Deborah Latewood, is due to be sentenced for a health and safety offence, while the nursery itself will be sentenced for corporate manslaughter as well as a health and safety offence.
From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026
We have this corporate architecture which doesn’t want to see any touch of a hand.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026
Following the publication of Michael Lewis’s seminal 2003 book about Beane and the A’s, corporate leaders around the country wanted to know how to bring “Moneyball” to their industry.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
“Would you, ahem, would you please wait until seven p.m., to allow me to apprise my corporate headquarters of recent developments?”
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
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.
