corrugated
Americanadjective
verb
Other Word Forms
- uncorrugated adjective
Etymology
Origin of corrugated
First recorded in 1585–95; corrugate ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. ) for the adjective; corrugate ( def. ) + -ed 1 ( def. ) for the verb
Explanation
Corrugated means molded into tight ridges and valleys. You've probably seen corrugated cardboard or corrugated metal roofs. Materials are put into a corrugated shape to ensure elasticity and strength — cardboard boxes hold their shape because the cardboard is reinforced with a corrugated layer inside the two flat pieces. To remember corrugated, think about corduroy pants — which also have ridges and valleys. If you're lucky enough to have had ribbon candy, that's corrugated as well.
Vocabulary lists containing corrugated
Born a Crime
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
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50 Great Words from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
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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.
Filled with my furniture, with paintings and posters leaning against its corrugated metal walls, it looked like the house in microcosm, as if I had moved, under duress, to a shipping container.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
The cube of concrete blocks topped with corrugated iron sheets cost him three years of sweat and sacrifice in a Saudi Arabian marble factory.
From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026
International Paper, the country’s largest producer of corrugated packaging, said its containerboard mills and box plants have been plagued by gas availability issues.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026
He sealed his daring reputation years before that when he redesigned his own home in Santa Monica, California, using materials like chain-link fencing, plywood and corrugated steel.
From BBC • Dec. 5, 2025
Some of these she could identify even from a distance: Hart’s-tongue ferns, cinnamon ferns, and some with attractive crinkled edges she thought were called corrugated ferns or, if they weren’t, ought to be.
From "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood
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.
