corridor

noun

cor·​ri·​dor ˈkȯr-ə-dər 

ˈkär-, 

-ˌdȯr 

1

a

: a passageway (as in a hotel or office building) into which compartments or rooms open

b

: a place or position in which especially political power is wielded through discussion and deal-making

was excluded from the corridors of power after losing the election

2

: a usually narrow passageway or route: such as

a

: a narrow strip of land through foreign-held territory

b

: a restricted lane for air traffic

c

: a land path used by migrating animals

3

a

: a densely populated strip of land including two or more major cities

… the Northeast corridor stretching from Washington into New England …

—S. D. Browne

b

: an area or stretch of land identified by a specific common characteristic or purpose

a corridor of liberalism

the city's industrial corridor

Synonyms of corridor

• region
• neck
• land
• part(s)

Examples of corridor in a Sentence

They pushed me down the hospital corridor to the operating room.

A corridor of land lies between the two mountain ranges.

Recent Examples on the Web

The war’s impact on inflation depends on its severity and duration as well as the magnitude of the disruption at the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow corridor through which one in five barrels of oil around the world flow. —Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 4 Mar. 2026

The line also returns to the Mediterranean, British Isles and Northern Europe, while maintaining Caribbean voyages from Florida and select long‑haul routes across the Pacific, Australia and the California‑to‑Mexico corridor. —David Dickstein, Oc Register, 4 Mar. 2026

The rest remains untouched, a landscape of redwoods, oak forests, wildlife corridors, and mountain terrain. —K. H. Koehler, USA Today, 4 Mar. 2026

The city is hoping the new Caravan Court Hotel, at the corner of Division and North Collins streets, will be a catalyst for revitalizing the corridor just south of entertainment district. —Matt Leclercq, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

earlier "covered passageway, path surrounding fortifications," borrowed from French, borrowed from regional Italian (by-form of Tuscan corridoio), from correre "to run" (going back to Latin currere) + -idore, going back to Latin -i-tōrium (from -i- -i- + -tōrium, suffix of place, from neuter of -tōrius, adjective derivative of -tōr-, -tor, agent suffix) — more at current entry 1

First Known Use

1777, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

corridor

noun

cor·​ri·​dor ˈkȯr-əd-ər 

ˈkär-, 

-ə-ˌdȯ(ə)r

1

: a passageway (as in a school) into which compartments or rooms open

2

: a narrow strip of land especially through territory held by an enemy

Etymology

from early French corridor "passageway," from early Italian corridore (same meaning), from correre "to run," from Latin currere "to run" — related to course, current