corn

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈkȯrn 

often attributive

1

chiefly dialectal : a small hard particle : grain

2

: a small hard seed

—usually used in combination

peppercorn

barleycorn

3

British : the grain of a cereal grass that is the primary crop of a region (such as wheat in Britain and oats in Scotland and Ireland)

also : a plant that produces corn

4

a

: a tall annual cereal grass (Zea mays) originally domesticated in Mexico and widely grown for its large elongated ears of starchy seeds

called also Indian corn, maize

b

: the typically yellow or whitish seeds of corn used especially as food for humans and livestock

c

: an ear of corn with or without its leafy outer covering

5

: corn whiskey

6

a

: something (such as writing, music, or acting) that is corny

b

: the quality or state of being corny : corniness

7

: corn snow

corn

2 of 3

verb

corned; corning; corns

transitive verb

1

: to form into grains : granulate

2

a

: to preserve or season with salt in grains

b

: to cure or preserve in brine containing preservatives and often seasonings

corned beef

3

: to feed with corn

corn

3 of 3

noun (2)

: a local hardening and thickening of epidermis (as on a toe)

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• goo
• mush
• schmaltz
• schmalz
• sludge
• slush
• soap opera
• sorghum

Examples of corn in a Sentence

Noun (1)

a story about a lost puppy that was pure corn

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Most gasoline sold across the U.S. is blended with 10% ethanol, but 15% blends are becoming increasingly common, particularly in the Midwest, where most of the nation’s corn is grown. —John Hanna, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2025

Going the other way, a $1.75 U.S. bushel of corn would have been 3.52 deutschmarks in January 1981, but 5.55 deutschmarks in 1985. —Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 27 Apr. 2025

Verb

If anyone other than Rudd were playing her selfish dad, audiences would be actively rooting for the jerk to get ’corned. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 9 Mar. 2025

Surely not the band members themselves, all of whom have toiled in obscurity for years in the Bay Area music scene, beating their heads against all the familiar struggling-musician walls (apathy, poverty, jealousy) before corning together less than two years ago to form Counting Crows. —Jim Greer, SPIN, 4 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, going back to Old English, "grain of a cereal grass, seed, berry," going back to Germanic *kurno- (whence also Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Old High German & Old Norse korn "grain of a cereal grass, seed," Gothic kaurn), going back to European Indo-European *ǵr̥H-no-, whence also Latin grānum "seed, especially of a cereal grass," Old Irish grán, Welsh grawn, Old Church Slavic zrĭno "grain, seed," Serbian & Croatian zȑno, Russian zernó, Lithuanian žìrnis "pea"

Note: The noun *ǵr̥H-no is sometimes taken to be a zero-grade derivative of Indo-European *ǵerh₂- "become old, ripen" (see geriatric entry 1), but this has been disputed.

Verb

derivative of corn entry 1

Noun (2)

Middle English corne, probably borrowed from Medieval Latin cornū "horn, horny excrescence," going back to Latin, "horn" — more at horn

Note: Late Old English corn in this sense, attested in the medical text Lacnunga, a collection of remedies, charms and prayers, may be from Latin or an extended sense of Old English corn corn entry 1.

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1560, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing corn

• blue corn
• corn borer
• corn bread
• corn chip
• corn cockle
• corn dodger
• corn dog
• corn earworm
• corn-fed
• corn flour
• corn leaf aphid
• corn oil
• corn on the cob
• corn pone
• corn poppy
• corn rootworm
• corn salad
• corn silk
• corn snake
• corn snow
• corn sugar
• corn syrup
• corn whiskey
• dent corn
• European corn borer
• field corn
• flint corn
• green corn
• hulled corn
• Indian corn
• Mexican street corn
• northern corn rootworm
• pod corn
• southern corn rootworm
• southwestern corn borer
• squirrel corn
• street corn
• sweet corn

Rhymes for corn

• borne
• bourn
• bourne
• morn
• mourn
• porn
• scorn
• shorn
• sworn
• thorn
• torn
• warn

Kids Definition

corn

1 of 3 noun

ˈkȯ(ə)rn 

1

: a tall American cereal grass plant widely grown for its large ears of starchy grain which come in many varieties

2

: the seeds of a corn plant that are used especially as food for humans and livestock and are typically yellow or whitish

3

: an ear of corn with or without its leafy outer covering

spent the afternoon picking corn

4

: corny actions or speech

corn

2 of 3 verb

: to preserve by packing with salt or by soaking in salty water

corned beef

corn

3 of 3 noun

: a local hardening and thickening of skin (as on a toe)

Etymology

Noun

Old English corn "seeds of a cereal plant"

Noun

Middle English corne "thickening of the skin," from early French corne "horn," from Latin cornu "horn, point" — related to unicorn

Medical Definition

corn

noun

ˈkȯ(ə)rn 

: a local hardening and thickening of epidermis (as on a toe)