corporation

[kawr-puh-rey-shuhn]

noun

1. 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.

2. Corporation, the group of principal officials of a borough or other municipal division in England.

3. any group of persons united or regarded as united in one body.

4. Informal.,  a paunch; potbelly.

corporation

/ ˌkɔːpəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. a group of people authorized by law to act as a legal personality and having its own powers, duties, and liabilities

2. Also called: municipal corporation. the municipal authorities of a city or town

3. a group of people acting as one body

4. See public corporation

5. informal,  a large paunch or belly

corporation

1. 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.

Grammar Note

See collective noun.

Other Word Forms

• corporational adjective
• multicorporation noun
• noncorporation noun
• subcorporation noun
• supercorporation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of corporation¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Late Latin corporātiōn- (stem of corporātiō ) “guild,” Latin: “physical makeup, build”; corporate, -ion

Example Sentences

“Bigger is not always better and becoming preoccupied with quarterly profits and the stock price over creativity speaks to problems at most big corporations in America,” Drexler said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Their prices aren’t based on even a theoretical value of issuing enterprises such as corporations, municipalities or federal agencies.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Borrowing a page from London's playbook, authorities have also decided to split the municipal corporation into five smaller bodies and set up an overarching Greater Bengaluru Authority.

Read more on Barron's

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's The Media Show, Dame Caroline Dinenage - who described Shah's evidence to the committee this week as "wishy-washy" - advised against further changes at the top of the corporation.

Read more on BBC

It also makes tracking your online activities harder for governments, marketers and corporations.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• business 
• company 
• enterprise