corner
Americannoun
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corners
plural
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the place at which two converging lines or surfaces meet.
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the space between two converging lines or surfaces near their intersection; angle.
a chair in the corner of the room.
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a projecting angle, especially of a rectangular figure or object.
He bumped into the corner of the table.
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the point where two streets meet.
the corner of Market and Main Streets.
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any narrow, secluded, or secret place.
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an awkward or embarrassing position, especially one from which escape is impossible.
- Synonyms:
- dead end, impasse, predicament
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Finance. a monopolizing or a monopoly of the available supply of a stock or commodity to a point permitting control of price (applied only when monopoly price is exacted).
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from every corner of the empire.
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Surveying.
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the point of intersection of the section lines of a land survey, often marked by a monument or some object, as a pipe that is set or driven into the ground.
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a stake, tree, or rock marking the intersection of property lines.
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a piece to protect the corner of anything.
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Baseball. Usually the corners first base or third base.
Votto is out on strikes for the third out, and the Reds leave runners on the corners.
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Baseball.
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any point on the line forming the left or right boundary of home plate.
a pitch on the corner.
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the area formed by the intersection of the foul line and the outfield fence.
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Boxing.
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the immediate area formed by any of the four angles in the ring.
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one of the two assigned corners where a boxer rests between rounds and behind which the handlers sit during a fight.
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Soccer. corner kick.
adjective
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situated on or at a corner where two streets meet.
a corner drugstore.
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made to fit or be used in a corner.
a corner cabinet.
verb (used with object)
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corners,
present (3rd person singular)
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cornered,
past participle, past
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cornering
present participle
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to furnish with corners.
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to place in or drive into a corner.
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to force into an awkward or difficult position or one from which escape is impossible.
He finally cornered the thief.
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to gain control of (a stock, commodity, etc.).
verb (used without object)
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corners,
present (3rd person singular)
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cornered,
past participle, past
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cornering
present participle
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to meet in or be situated on or at a corner.
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to form a corner in a stock or commodity.
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(of an automobile) to turn, especially at a speed relatively high for the angle of the turn involved.
idioms
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turn the corner, to pass through a crisis safely.
When the fever passed, we knew he had turned the corner.
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cut corners,
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to use a shorter route.
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to reduce costs or care in execution.
cutting corners to meet the foreign competition.
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the four corners of the earth, the most distant or remote regions.
They traveled to the four corners of the earth.
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rough corners, rude, boorish, or unsophisticated characteristics, manners, or the like.
Despite his rough corners, he was very likable.
noun
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the place, position, or angle formed by the meeting of two converging lines or surfaces
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a projecting angle of a solid object or figure
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the place where two streets meet
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any small, secluded, secret, or private place
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a dangerous or awkward position, esp from which escape is difficult
a tight corner
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any part, region or place, esp a remote place
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something used to protect or mark a corner, as of the hard cover of a book
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commerce a monopoly over the supply of a commodity so that its market price can be controlled
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soccer hockey a free kick or shot from the corner of the field, taken against a defending team when the ball goes out of play over their goal line after last touching one of their players
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either of two opposite angles of a boxing ring in which the opponents take their rests
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US name: dihedral. mountaineering a junction between two rock faces forming an angle of between 60° and 120°
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to do something in the easiest and shortest way, esp at the expense of high standards
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close at hand
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to pass the critical point (in an illness, etc)
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(modifier) located on a corner
a corner shop
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(modifier) suitable or designed for a corner
a corner table
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logic either of a pair of symbols used in the same way as ordinary quotation marks to indicate quasi quotation See quasi-quotation
verb
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(tr) to manoeuvre (a person or animal) into a position from which escape is difficult or impossible
finally they cornered the fox
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(tr) to furnish or provide with corners
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(tr) to place in or move into a corner
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(tr)
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to acquire enough of (a commodity) to attain control of the market
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Also: engross. to attain control of (a market) in such a manner Compare forestall
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(intr) (of vehicles, etc) to turn a corner
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(intr) to be situated on a corner
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(intr) (in soccer, etc) to take a corner
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cornersimple
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cornerssimple
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have corneredperfect
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has corneredperfect
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am corneringprogressive
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are corneringprogressive
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is corneringprogressive
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have been corneringperfect progressive
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has been corneringperfect progressive
Past
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corneredsimple
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had corneredperfect
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was corneringprogressive
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were corneringprogressive
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had been corneringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of corner
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Old French cornier(e), “a corner,” from Vulgar Latin corna, Latin cornua, plural of cornū “(animal) horn” + -er noun suffix; see origin at horn; see also cornu -er )
Explanation
Corners are everywhere. Two perpendicular lines form a corner. Rooms and streets have corners too. If a child misbehaves in class, the teacher might make him stand in the corner. The key to a corner is that it leads in two directions: when you look at the corner of a room, you could hang a picture to the right or left of the corner, but not in the corner itself. A street corner usually has a street sign and sometimes a bus stop, too. A square table has four corners, but a round table doesn't have any corner. Notice how when you look straight at a corner, there's nowhere to go? That's why corner is also a verb. If you say, "I cornered him," it means you trapped him and gave him nowhere to turn. Whenever we don't see a lot of options, we feel cornered.
Vocabulary lists containing corner
"Eleven"
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"Eleven," Vocabulary from the short story
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"Mother to Son"
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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.
See Examples For:
Rashford's first run ended with him conceding a foul, but it wasn't long before a brilliant piece of play by the corner flag took him past an opponent.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
And as a deterrent to goalkeepers who take a long time over goal-kicks towards the end of games, he can now give the opposition a corner instead if the keeper takes too long.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
He got a two-step lead on rookie corner Collin Wright on a long pass from Lance, yet couldn’t cash in.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Then I round the corner toward the bagged vegetables and point my phone at a package of Earthbound Farm broccoli florets.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Clare said, even though, in some secret corner of his heart, he feared it was.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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There was Dutch Corner, where an army of orange-clad supporters camped out for days and partied to EDM while waiting for the race.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Speaking outside court, Lyra's sister Nichola Corner said the verdict was a "complete and utter shock".
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
Speaking outside court, McKee's sister Nichola Corner said the justice system had "completely failed" her family.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
Proponents like Mark Borman of Bridge & Corner, which hosts film production in the area, said the BID could address environmental concerns affecting the well-being of their tenants.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026
Now Dallas sat on a stool in the basement Thinking Corner.
From "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech
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What won't be changing: Unlike at the World Cup, there will be no VAR interventions on incorrect corners or red cards for players who cover their mouth in a confrontational situation.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
To critics, it is a system that will cover up weaknesses in some corners of the AI marketplace.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
With runners on the corners, Waldschmidt hit a bouncing comebacker that Dreyer snagged and threw to second before Edman quickly threw to Freddie Freeman to end the game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
What was once tucked into corners of the internet is now visible just beneath the sheen of any social media algorithm.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
Dozens of green papers, each printed with the number 100 in the corners, drifted down around them.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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Prime Video has cornered the market on young-adult fiction, catering to a massive audience of women and girls who want to escape into love stories.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Christ was cornered — pay taxes to Rome, or be branded a traitor — and so he turned the trap into a statement about the limits of power.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
The more exposed he is to the laughter, and the more cornered he feels, the more ridiculously he will have to respond—because he can’t admit to an error.
From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2026
Created in 2017, Binance has cornered much of the crypto-trading market, turning its co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao into a billionaire.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
After math, this time I cornered him in the hallway.
From "The Lions of Little Rock" by Kristin Levine
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With ambitions of cornering the electric vehicle market, India is also on the lookout for critical minerals such as lithium -- another resource Australia has in abundance.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Even qualifying is no longer the pedal-to-the-metal spectacle of raw speed, cornering skill and courage that separates the great from the merely quick.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
The reduced downforce has lowered cornering speeds and ensured some of the quicker corners, where drivers did not have to slow down before, will be more challenging.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2026
Tesla is one of several companies pushing the frontiers of robotics in the hopes of cornering a nascent market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 3, 2026
“I — yes, Professor — but —” Filch looked yearningly up the stairs, right through Harry, who could see that he was very reluctant to forgo the chance of cornering Peeves.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
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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.