Dictionary.com

Popular Searches

 Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

corporation

American  
[kawr-puh-rey-shuhn] / ˌkɔr pəˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

  1. an association of individuals, created by law or under authority of law, having a continuous existence independent of the existences of its members, and powers and liabilities distinct from those of its members.

  2. Corporation, the group of principal officials of a borough or other municipal division in England.

  3. any group of persons united or regarded as united in one body.

  4. Informal. a paunch; potbelly.

corporation British  
/ ˌkɔːpəˈreɪʃən /

noun

  1. a group of people authorized by law to act as a legal personality and having its own powers, duties, and liabilities

  2. Also called: municipal corporation.  the municipal authorities of a city or town

  3. a group of people acting as one body

  4. See public corporation

  5. informal a large paunch or belly

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
corporation Cultural  

  1. A business organization owned by a group of stockholders, each of whom enjoys limited liability (that is, each can be held responsible for losses only up to the limit of his or her investment). A corporation has the ability to raise capital by selling stock to the public.

Grammar

See collective noun.

Other Word Forms

  • corporational adjective
  • multicorporation noun
  • noncorporation noun
  • subcorporation noun
  • supercorporation noun

Etymology

Origin of corporation

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Late Latin corporātiōn- (stem of corporātiō ) “guild,” Latin: “physical makeup, build”; corporate, -ion

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.

“We are not a big-city corporation with endless revenue,” he wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal

For decades, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf sold themselves as an oasis of peace in a region prone to conflict, attracting wealthy expats, multinational corporations and investment.

From The Wall Street Journal

Adams, 63, who has been contacted for comment, said in October that her name had been "dragged through the mud" and that the corporation had not given her the details of the allegations.

From BBC

The BBC asked Drone to Home and James about all of these matters, and he responded by disputing the claims and threatening the corporation with legal action.

From BBC

Much of the site is owned by Amtrak, a corporation chartered by the federal government.

From The Wall Street Journal

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.