corporation

UK/ˌkɔː.pəˈɹeɪ.ʃən//ˌkɔɹ.pəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/

corporation noun: a body corporate, 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.

Noun

corporation (plural corporations)

A body corporate, 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.
- That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone...1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter II, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC
- With his twin notes, Mr. Musk waded directly into a fractious debate over the right way for corporations to bring workers back to the office during the coronavirus pandemic.2022 June 1, Ryan Mac, “Elon Musk to Workers: Spend 40 Hours in the Office, or Else”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 02 Jul 2022
The municipal governing body of a borough or city.
(historical) In Fascist Italy, a joint association of employers' and workers' representatives.
(dated, humorous, slang) A protruding belly.
- [The Rector], looming large in full canonicals, walking, as became a beneficed priest, under the canopy of a shovel-hat, with the dignity of an ample corporation, the embellishment of the squarest and vastest of black coats, and the support of the stoutest of gold-headed canes.1849, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], “Whitsuntide”, in Shirley. A Tale. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC, pages 127–128
- 'You'd be surprised,' said Stanley, as though this were intensely interesting, 'at the number of chaps at the club who have got a corporation.'1918, Katherine Mansfield, ‘Prelude’, Selected Stories, Oxford World's Classics paperback 2002, page 91
Synonyms:

paunch

Proper noun capitalized: Corporation

the Corporation

(UK, abbreviation, ellipsis) Ellipsis of City of London Corporation.
- In one respect at least the Corporation acts as the superior body: it imposes on the House of Commons a figure called the remembrancer: an official lobbyist who sits behind the Speaker's chair and ensures that, whatever our elected representatives might think, the City's rights and privileges are...2011 October 31, George Monbiot, “The medieval, unaccountable Corporation of London is ripe for protest”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

corporation meaning in Marathi, Urdu, Bengali and Telugu

corporation in Marathi

company owned by shareholders — see also joint-stock company, public limited company: महामंडळ mahāmaṇḍaḷ

corporation in Urdu

کارپوریشن

corporation in Bengali

কর্পোরেশন, নিগম, কর্পোরেশনের

corporation in Telugu

కార్పొరేషన్, కార్పోరేషన్

More languagesFewer languages

corporation in Malayalam: കോർപ്പറേഷൻ, കോർപറേഷൻ
corporation in Kannada: ನಿಗಮ, ನಿಗಮವು
corporation in Punjabi: ਨਿਗਮ, ਕਾਰਪੋਰੇਸ਼ਨ
corporation in Gujarati: કોર્પોરેશન, નિગમ
corporation in Odia: ନିଗମ, କର୍ପୋରେସନ୍, କର୍ପୋରେସନ
corporation in Nepali: निगम, कर्पोरेसन
corporation in Tagalog: korporasyon
corporation in Malay: berhad
corporation in Indonesian: perseroan terbatas terbuka

Examples of corporation in a sentence

Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter II, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
He was a big chap with a corporation already, and a flat face rather like Dora's, and he had a thin black moustache.1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York, published 2007, page 316:
He lay covering his corporation with as much as his body and limbs would allow.2001, Jamie O’Neill, At Swim, Two Boys, London: Scribner, Part 2, Chapter 20, p. 620:

All 40 example sentences with corporation

Synonyms of corporation

paunch

Forms of corporation

plural	corporations

Plural of corporation: corporations

Origin of corporation

From Middle English corporacion, corporation, from Late Latin corporatio (“assumption of a body”), from Latin corporatus, past participle of corporare (“to form into a body”); see corporate. By surface analysis, corporate + -ion. (protruding belly): Perhaps a play on the word corpulence.

Phrases with corporation

Words that rhyme with corporation

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about corporation

What does corporation mean?: Corporation means a body corporate, 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.
What is corporation in Marathi?: Corporation in Marathi is महामंडळ (mahāmaṇḍaḷ). See Corporation meaning in Marathi.
How do you use corporation in a sentence?: Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans.
What part of speech is corporation?: Corporation can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce corporation?: Corporation is pronounced /ˌkɔː.pəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/ (UK).
What is the plural of corporation?: The plural of corporation is corporations.

Words near corporation in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-corporation.ogg.

Cite this entry: “corporation.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/corporation. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.