corn

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

Examples of corn in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

By Caroline Eubanks June 18, 2024 The Best New Hotel Bars in the World Including a snazzy and intimate drinking hole in New York's NoMad and corn liqueur cocktails in Mexico City. —Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Mar. 2026

My father, tired from corning off rigs, would fill a large stainless steel bowl with dish soap at night. —Literary Hub, 21 Jan. 2026

The through-line is not a single flavor profile but a consistent philosophy: build a solid base whisky—often corn for texture and sweetness, rye for flavor and spice—then use time, blending, and selective cask influence to add dimension. —Joseph V Micallef, Forbes.com, 17 Jan. 2026

Drizzle corn evenly with 1 tablespoon of chipotle sauce; toss to coat. —Sabrina Weiss, People.com, 31 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

derivative of corn entry 1

First Known Use

1560, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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 maze
• corn oil
• corn on the cob
• corn pone
• corn poppy
• corn rootworm
• corn salad
• corn silk
• corn smut
• corn smut disease
• 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
• morne
• mourn
• porn
• scorn
• shorn
• sworn
• thorn
• torn

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

Old English corn "seeds of a cereal plant"

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)