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• corner
  corner

  noun

  the place at which two converging lines or surfaces meet.
• Corner
  Corner

  noun

  an area in central Australia, at the junction of the borders of Queensland and South Australia

corner

American  

[kawr-ner] / ˈkɔr nər /

noun

• corners
  plural

1. 

   the place at which two converging lines or surfaces meet.

2. the space between two converging lines or surfaces near their intersection; angle.

   a chair in the corner of the room.

3. a projecting angle, especially of a rectangular figure or object.

   He bumped into the corner of the table.

4. the point where two streets meet.

   the corner of Market and Main Streets.

5. an end; margin; edge.

6. any narrow, secluded, or secret place.

7. an awkward or embarrassing position, especially one from which escape is impossible.

   Synonyms:

   dead end, impasse, predicament

8. 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).

9. region; part; quarter.

   from every corner of the empire.

10. Surveying.

    1. 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.

    2. a stake, tree, or rock marking the intersection of property lines.

11. a piece to protect the corner of anything.

12. 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.

13. Baseball.

    1. any point on the line forming the left or right boundary of home plate.

       a pitch on the corner.

    2. the area formed by the intersection of the foul line and the outfield fence.

14. Boxing.

    1. the immediate area formed by any of the four angles in the ring.

    2. one of the two assigned corners where a boxer rests between rounds and behind which the handlers sit during a fight.

15. Soccer. corner kick.

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adjective

1. situated on or at a corner where two streets meet.

   a corner drugstore.

2. made to fit or be used in a corner.

   a corner cabinet.

verb (used with object)

• corners,
  present (3rd person singular)
• cornered,
  past participle,  past
• cornering
  present participle

1. to furnish with corners.

2. to place in or drive into a corner.

3. to force into an awkward or difficult position or one from which escape is impossible.

   He finally cornered the thief.

4. to gain control of (a stock, commodity, etc.).

verb (used without object)

• corners,
  present (3rd person singular)
• cornered,
  past participle,  past
• cornering
  present participle

1. to meet in or be situated on or at a corner.

2. to form a corner in a stock or commodity.

3. (of an automobile) to turn, especially at a speed relatively high for the angle of the turn involved.

idioms

1. turn the corner, to pass through a crisis safely.

   When the fever passed, we knew he had turned the corner.

2. cut corners,

   1. to use a shorter route.

   2. to reduce costs or care in execution.

      cutting corners to meet the foreign competition.

3. the four corners of the earth, the most distant or remote regions.

   They traveled to the four corners of the earth.

4. rough corners, rude, boorish, or unsophisticated characteristics, manners, or the like.

   Despite his rough corners, he was very likable.

corner ¹ British  

/ ˈkɔːnə /

noun

1. the place, position, or angle formed by the meeting of two converging lines or surfaces

2. a projecting angle of a solid object or figure

3. the place where two streets meet

4. any small, secluded, secret, or private place

5. a dangerous or awkward position, esp from which escape is difficult

   a tight corner

6. any part, region or place, esp a remote place

7. something used to protect or mark a corner, as of the hard cover of a book

8. commerce a monopoly over the supply of a commodity so that its market price can be controlled

9. 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

10. either of two opposite angles of a boxing ring in which the opponents take their rests

11. US name: dihedral. mountaineering a junction between two rock faces forming an angle of between 60° and 120°

12. to do something in the easiest and shortest way, esp at the expense of high standards

13. close at hand

14. to pass the critical point (in an illness, etc)

15. (modifier) located on a corner

    a corner shop

16. (modifier) suitable or designed for a corner

    a corner table

17. logic either of a pair of symbols used in the same way as ordinary quotation marks to indicate quasi quotation See quasi-quotation

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verb

1. (tr) to manoeuvre (a person or animal) into a position from which escape is difficult or impossible

   finally they cornered the fox

2. (tr) to furnish or provide with corners

3. (tr) to place in or move into a corner

4. (tr)

   1. to acquire enough of (a commodity) to attain control of the market

   2. Also: engross. to attain control of (a market) in such a manner Compare forestall

5. (intr) (of vehicles, etc) to turn a corner

6. (intr) to be situated on a corner

7. (intr) (in soccer, etc) to take a corner

Corner ² British  

noun

1. informal an area in central Australia, at the junction of the borders of Queensland and South Australia

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corner More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing corner

• around the corner
• cut corners
• four corners of the earth
• in a tight corner
• out of the corner of one's eye
• paint oneself into a corner
• turn the corner

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• corners
  plural

Participles

• cornering
  present
• cornered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• corner
  simple
• corners
  simple
• have cornered
  perfect
• has cornered
  perfect
• am cornering
  progressive
• are cornering
  progressive
• is cornering
  progressive
• have been cornering
  perfect progressive
• has been cornering
  perfect progressive

Past

• cornered
  simple
• had cornered
  perfect
• was cornering
  progressive
• were cornering
  progressive
• had been cornering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will corner
  simple
• will have cornered
  perfect
• will be cornering
  progressive
• will have been cornering
  perfect progressive

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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 )

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

corner Corner corners cornered cornering

I miss the corner candy store or luncheonettes of my early life in Brooklyn and Long Island.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Osmand's first touch nestled in the bottom corner of Alexander Nubel's goal, just 43 seconds after the 20-year-old attacker came on.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

Both Foreman and Bennett took off running around the corner onto Crenshaw.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

Imagine preparing to cross a street when you suddenly notice a car approaching from the corner of your eye.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026

It was especially warm that day; the sun cooked my face and arms as I walked to the corner of Sunset and Spring where Russell was waiting for me.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

In a recent article, the Chicago Tribune described the scandal as the “Great Onion Corner of 1955.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

Collins’ office did not specifically address questions about the Corner Bakery meeting, the senator’s relationship with Kao and the millions she helped appropriate for Navatek.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

Charities, such as Oscar's Community Corner, also use space in the shop for their own crafting projects.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

Liz Luciano, an executive assistant to New York City financial and real-estate firms, frequently has to secure reservations for in-demand restaurants like The Corner Store or The Polo Bar for her bosses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

As the story goes, the original Mr. Cobble wasn’t doing too well with the original Cobble’s Corner Grocery at the corner of Hector and Birch.

From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli

He cranks up a voting-themed choral cover of “Golden,” from KPop Demon Hunters, that has attained meme status in lefty corners.

From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026

I grew up in one of the most left-liberal corners of America, surrounded by educated adults who supported the civil rights movement, opposed the Vietnam War, hated Richard Nixon and loved Israel.

From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026

Excitement about AI’s potential to transform the economy has lifted stocks from tech heavyweights to utilities and chip makers, while driving a speculative frenzy in other corners of the market.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026

Still, Bass has drawn support from traditional corners and has a fundraising lead.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

This version of the city was different—there were strange symbols on the four corners: a crescent moon, a trident, interlocked triangles, and a sun.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

A leadership that feels cornered may escalate rather than accommodate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

Police officers followed and cornered the horse on motorbikes, before it was wrangled by a lasso-carrying cowboy.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 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

D-Wave Quantum: The company has cornered the market for “annealing quantum,” an approach tailored to optimization tasks like logistics and data sampling.

From Barron's ● May 15, 2026

Horace sounded weak and defensive, ashamed to have been cornered into saying this.

From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs

Ferrari started the season with the best chassis in terms of cornering performance, but their engine has fallen short of those produced by Mercedes and Red Bull.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

The all-terrain tires undo some of this good work; the taller sidewalls mean more deflection in sharp cornering, a less crisp steering response, and a bit more tire noise at highway speeds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

In something of an irony, Lotus’s historic approach to cornering and traction management—crossed up, tail out, mustaches ablaze—looks a lot like what the kids call drifting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

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

The match must have finished hours ago...as had any hope of cornering Malfoy.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

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Related Words

• edge
• intersection
• rim

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