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corporation

[kawr-puh-rey-shuh n]
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noun

an association of individuals, created by law or under authority of law, having a continuous existence independent of the existences of its members, and powers and liabilities distinct from those of its members.See also municipal corporation, public corporation.
(initial capital letter) the group of principal officials of a borough or other municipal division in England.
any group of persons united or regarded as united in one body.
Informal. a paunch; potbelly.

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RELATED WORDS

business, company, partnership, society, enterprise, association, clan, shell, zoo, crowd, hookup, jungle, crew, gang, syndicate, mob, ring, outfit, bunch, octopus

Nearby words

  1. corporate restructuring,
  2. corporate venturing,
  3. corporate village,
  4. corporate welfare,
  5. corporately,
  6. corporation stop,
  7. corporation tax,
  8. corporatism,
  9. corporatist,
  10. corporative

Origin of corporation

1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin corporātiōn- (stem of corporātiō) ‘guild’, Latin: ‘physical makeup, build’. See corporate, -ion
Related forms

Usage note

See collective noun.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for corporation

British Dictionary definitions for corporation

corporation

noun

a group of people authorized by law to act as a legal personality and having its own powers, duties, and liabilities
Also called: municipal corporation the municipal authorities of a city or town
a group of people acting as one body
See public corporation
informal a large paunch or belly
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for corporation

corporation

n.

mid-15c., "persons united in a body for some purpose," from such use in Anglo-Latin, from Late Latin corporationem (nominative corporatio), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin corporare "to embody" (see corporate). Meaning "legally authorized entity" (including municipal governments and modern business companies) is from 1610s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Culture definitions for corporation

corporation

A business organization owned by a group of stockholders, each of whom enjoys limited liability (that is, each can be held responsible for losses only up to the limit of his or her investment). A corporation has the ability to raise capital by selling stock to the public.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.