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

Spacek envisioned a tribunal of life-tenured judges, funded by professional assessments, open to arguments from auditors, corporations, regulators, labor unions, and consumer groups.

Read more on Barron's

“No corporation should gain a business advantage by ignoring the law and harming the environment,” Jane Gray, chair of the Central Coast Water Board, said in a statement.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It said there are "serious constraints" on the next four biggest taxes - corporation tax, council tax, business rates and fuel duties - while "some other tax-raising options would be especially economically harmful".

Read more on BBC

The bribery scandal involves corporations and government agencies—those two metasystems that dominate modern life.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He said the corporation had "lost trust" in Mr Murley and this had made a final written warning and the continuation of his role as a presenter "impossible".

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• business 
• company 
• enterprise