Home / Dictionary / Corner

Corner Very Common

Corner has 18 different meanings across 3 categories:

Noun · Verb · Proper Noun

Definitions
Noun
1

a place off to the side of an area

"he tripled to the rightfield corner"

"the southeastern corner of the Mediterranean"

2

the point where two lines meet or intersect

"the corners of a rectangle"

3

an interior angle formed by two meeting walls

"a piano was in one corner of the room"

4

the intersection of two streets

"standing on the corner watching all the girls go by"

5

the point where three areas or surfaces meet or intersect

"the corners of a cube"

6

a small concavity

"The cat poked its head out of the corner formed by the two stacked crates to peek at us."

7

a temporary monopoly on a kind of commercial trade

"a corner on the silver market"

8

a predicament from which a skillful or graceful escape is impossible

"his lying got him into a tight corner"

9

a projecting part where two sides or edges meet

"he knocked off the corners"

10

a remote area

"in many corners of the world they still practice slavery"

11

(architecture) solid exterior angle of a building; especially one formed by a cornerstone

"The architect carefully inspected the corner of the new library to ensure the massive granite cornerstone was perfectly aligned before laying the rest of the wall."

12

The point where two converging lines meet; an angle, either external or internal.

"The surveyor carefully marked the corner where the property boundaries met to ensure the fence was built at a perfect right angle."

13

The space in the angle between converging lines or walls which meet in a point.

"The cat curled up snugly into the corner where the two walls met."

In plain English: A corner is the place where two walls meet to form an inside angle.

"Please turn left at the next corner to get to my house."

Usage: Use "corner" to describe a place where two walls meet in a room or where two streets intersect at a sharp turn. Do not use it for the general direction you are facing, as that requires words like "north" or "east."

Verb
1

gain control over

"corner the gold market"

2

force a person or an animal into a position from which he cannot escape

"The hounds drove the rabbit until it was cornered against the fence and had no way to run."

3

turn a corner

"the car corners"

4

To drive (someone or something) into a corner or other confined space.

"The security guards managed to trap the suspect in a narrow alleyway by closing off every exit."

In plain English: To corner someone means to trap them so they have no way out.

"The police cornered the suspect in an alleyway."

Usage: Use "to corner" when describing the act of trapping someone in a tight physical space or forcing them into a situation where they have no escape. Do not use it to mean simply turning a street corner, which requires the noun form instead.

Proper Noun
1

A surname​.

"The local bakery is owned by Mr. Corner from the next town over."

Example Sentences
"Please turn left at the next corner to get to my house." noun
"I need to turn the corner to reach my office building." noun
"The cat hid in the dark corner of the room." noun
"We decided to sit in the quiet corner by the window." noun
"The police cornered the suspect in an alleyway." verb
See Also
edge walls angle turn meet two room intersection
Related Terms
edge walls angle turn meet two room intersection point meeting around walls meet dogear confined first base bout crossette drive cheilosis cornering
Broader Terms (hypernyms)
area point intersection concave shape monopoly predicament part structure control steer turn
Narrower Terms (hyponyms)
canthus amen corner chimney corner blind corner pharyngeal recess

Origin

The word comes from the Old French term for a projecting point like a horn, which was borrowed into Middle English around 1200. While its original meaning referred to any sharp angle or tip, it eventually came to mean specifically the corner of a room or building in English.

Rhyming Words
ner oner tiner inner saner niner avner viner boner liner doner runer ziner toner epner awner fener naner owner exner
Compare
Corner vs