corrugate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to draw or bend into folds or alternate furrows and ridges.
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to wrinkle, as the skin or face.
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Western U.S. to make irrigation ditches in (a field).
verb (used without object)
adjective
verb
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of corrugate
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin corrūgātus, past participle of corrūgāre, equivalent to cor- “with, together” + rūg(āre) “to wrinkle” + -ātus past participle suffix; see cor-, -ate 1
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.
See Examples For:
The pulp and paper mill makes about 1,800 tons of unbleached paper and corrugate medium each day.
From Seattle Times ● May 10, 2023
The largest and fastest-growing market for corrugate is China, home to both an expanding middle class and the e-commerce giant Alibaba.
From New York Times ● Nov. 28, 2022
In its hunger for corrugate, China is helping to reshape the global economy, often in profound and lasting ways.
From New York Times ● Nov. 28, 2022
The outer shipping box is 100% recyclable cardboard corrugate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2020
The corrugate shapes of old harrowtroughs still faintly visible.
From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
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The corrugated steel walls are filled with very dense foam that is burning slowly and off-gassing despite ongoing water drops from helicopters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026
Special corrugated boxes have been developed to protect the fruit and help keep them cool.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
U.S. gas futures are up a relatively tame 14% since then, offering an advantage to domestic producers of fertilizer and other economic building blocks including steel, plastic, and corrugated packaging.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
It's like a wing with a flexible, corrugated structure within it – something like an accordion – that allows said wing to fold down quickly, or flex with ease.
From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2026
Ugwu knew that an army contractor had donated some corrugated iron for replacing the blown-off roof and that volunteers were camouflaging it with palm fronds.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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It showed both the remaining footage in the current order and the processing speed of the corrugating machine.
From New York Times ● Nov. 28, 2022
He invested in kraft vats, and when corrugating technology reached in America, he invested in that too, allowing him to produce bigger, stronger boxes capable of carrying heavier cargo, like sugar and coffee beans.
From New York Times ● Nov. 28, 2022
Beside me sat a man whose anxiety radiated from him in waves, like heat corrugating the air.
From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2021
By corrugating the painting with Vs in relief, and painting each arm of the Vs separately, Agam can reveal two distinct acutely angled surfaces to viewers at the same time.
From Time Magazine Archive
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"It is an even fifty dollars—neither more nor less," she had told them, with a puzzled little frown corrugating her pretty forehead.
From The Girls of Central High Aiding the Red Cross Or Amateur Theatricals for a Worthy Cause by Morrison, Gertrude W.
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.