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cor·ner (kôrnər)
Share:
n.
1.
a. The position at which two lines, surfaces, or edges meet and form an angle: the four corners of a rectangle.
b. The area enclosed or bounded by an angle formed in this manner: sat by myself in the corner; the corner of one's eye.
2. The place where two roads or streets join or intersect.
3.
a. Sports Any of the four angles of a boxing or wrestling ring where the ropes are joined.
b. Baseball Either side of home plate, toward or away from the batter.
c. A corner kick in soccer.
d. Football A cornerback.
4. A threatening or embarrassing position from which escape is difficult: got myself into a corner by boasting.
5. A remote, secluded, or secret place: the four corners of the earth; a beautiful little corner of Paris.
6. A part or piece made to fit on a corner, as in mounting or for protection.
7.
a. A speculative monopoly of a stock or commodity created by purchasing all or most of the available supply in order to raise its price.
b. Exclusive possession; monopoly: "Neither party ... has a corner on all the good ideas" (George B. Merry).
v. cor·nered, cor·ner·ing, cor·ners
v.tr.
1. To place or drive into a corner: cornered the thieves and captured them.
2. To form a corner in (a stock or commodity): cornered the silver market.
3. To furnish with corners.
v.intr.
1. To turn, as at a corner: a truck that corners poorly.
2. To come together or be situated on or at a corner.
adj.
1. Located at a street corner: a corner drugstore.
2. Designed for use in a corner: a corner table.
Idiom:
around the corner
About to happen; imminent.

[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French corne, corner, horn, from Vulgar Latin *corna, from Latin cornua, pl. of cornū, horn, point; see ker-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.