corridor

[kawr-i-der, -dawr, kor-]

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noun

a gallery or passage connecting parts of a building; hallway.

a passage into which several rooms or apartments open.

a passageway in a passenger ship or railroad car permitting access to separate cabins or compartments.

a narrow tract of land forming a passageway, as one connecting two major cities or one belonging to an inland country and affording an outlet to the sea: the Polish Corridor.

a usually densely populated region characterized by one or more well-traveled routes used by railroad, airline, or other carriers: The Northeast corridor extends from Washington, D.C., to Boston.

Aeronautics. a restricted path along which an aircraft must travel to avoid hostile action, other air traffic, etc.

Aerospace. a carefully calculated path through the atmosphere along which a space vehicle must travel after launch or during reentry in order to attain a desired orbit, to avoid severe acceleration and deceleration, or to minimize aerodynamic heating.

Nearby words

Origin of corridor

1585–95; < Middle French < Upper Italian corridore (Tuscan corridoio), equivalent to corr(ere) to run (< Latin currere) + -idore < Latin -i-tōrium; see -i-, -tory²

Related formscor·ri·dored, adjectivepre·cor·ri·dor, nounun·cor·ri·dored, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for corridor

Controlling the corridor was essential to supporting deep operations elsewhere in eastern Afghanistan.
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban Valley|Matt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He backed away and walked down the corridor as a file of terrified patients pressed themselves against the walls.
Inside a Hospital for the Criminally Insane|Caitlin Dickson|September 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then the Malaysians asked to go to 34,000 feet, but were told that that corridor was not available.
MH17 Switched Places With Another Jet|Clive Irving|September 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The mother and sister of one defendant began screaming in the corridor outside the courtroom.
Junta Crackdown On Burmese Press|Joshua Carroll|July 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The rebels, defying airstrikes, are opening a corridor for reinforcements from Mother Russia.
The Sky Explodes Over Luhansk, and Kiev Blames the Separatists|Anna Nemtsova|June 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Already our man had gone round the gallery and the corridor was all in darkness.
The Hound of the Baskervilles|A. Conan Doyle
Immediately a peculiar patter sounded down the corridor; a ka-tuck, ka-tuck, ka-tuck, not unlike galloping hoof-beats.
The Blind Spot|Austin Hall
"That is all right," said Brett wearily, traversing a corridor to gain his room.
The Albert Gate Mystery|Louis Tracy
Flanked by guards, they went down a corridor which stretched on interminably.
The Status Civilization|Robert Sheckley
Did you tell him that it was the last door at the end of the corridor, on the right?
Les Misrables|Victor Hugo

British Dictionary definitions for corridor

corridor

noun

a hallway or passage connecting parts of a building

a strip of land or airspace along the route of a road or riverthe M1 corridor

a strip of land or airspace that affords access, either from a landlocked country to the sea (such as the Polish corridor, 1919-39, which divided Germany) or from a state to an exclave (such as the Berlin corridor, 1945–90, which passed through the former East Germany)

a passageway connecting the compartments of a railway coach

corridors of power the higher echelons of government, the Civil Service, etc, considered as the location of power and influence

a flight path that affords safe access for intruding aircraft

the path that a spacecraft must follow when re-entering the atmosphere, above which lift is insufficient and below which heating effects are excessive

Word Origin for corridor

C16: from Old French, from Old Italian corridore, literally: place for running, from correre to run, from Latin currere

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 corridor

corridor

1590s, from French corridor (16c.), from Italian corridore "a gallery," literally "a runner," from correre "to run," from Latin currere (see current (adj.)). Originally of fortifications, meaning "long hallway" is first recorded 1814.