corrugated

American  

[kawr-uh-gey-tid, kor-] / ˈkɔr əˌgeɪ tɪd, ˈkɒr- /

adjective

1. shaped into wavy folds or alternating furrows and ridges.

   Drops of rain hammered on the corrugated metal roof.

   Your cat can use the toy’s corrugated cardboard center as a scratching mat.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of corrugate.

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.

Example Sentences

The affected dormitory had shattered windows, blackened walls and a crumpled corrugated iron roof, an AFP journalist saw.

From Barron's • May 28, 2026

Special corrugated boxes have been developed to protect the fruit and help keep them cool.

From BBC • May 25, 2026

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

At the party, at the corrugated tin shack of Maria Isabel’s cousin, Jasmin eats chicken, tries to blow up a red balloon, and borrows a pink bike with training wheels.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

Related Words

• crumpled