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cor·po·ra·tion | \ ˌkȯr-pə-ˈrā-shən 
\
\Definition of corporation
1a : a group of merchants or traders united in a trade guild (see guild sense 1)
b : the municipal authorities of a town or city
2 : a body formed and authorized by law to act as a single person although constituted by one or more persons and legally endowed with various rights and duties including the capacity of succession
3 : an association of employers and employees in a basic industry or of members of a profession organized as an organ of political representation in a corporative state
4 : potbelly sense 1
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Synonyms for corporation
Synonyms
- bay window,
- beer belly,
- belly,
- gut,
- paunch,
- pot,
- potbelly
Examples of corporation in a Sentence
He works as a consultant for several large corporations.
a substantial corporation that showed that he was a sucker for all-you-can-eat buffets
Recent Examples on the Web And also, which is an even rarer opportunity, to make a kind of experimental poem financed by a big corporation.
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Tyler Aquilina, EW.com, "YouTube wants your quarantine videos (and more) for Life in a Day 2020," 8 July 2020 Sometimes, after filing for bankruptcy, businesses reopen, or, another corporation buys them out, Debt.org notes.
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Jennifer Aldrich, Better Homes & Gardens, "Here's Exactly What to Do With Unused Gift Cards After a Company Goes Out of Business," 23 June 2020 Under California law, a corporation can be fined a maximum of $10,000 for each manslaughter charge.
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Fortune, "PG&E dodges 90 years in jail for fire because it’s not a person," 18 June 2020 Ramsey said in March that the crime of involuntary manslaughter by a corporation must be based on proof of criminal negligence in failing to perform a legal duty to those who died.
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CBS News, "PG&E pleads guilty to 84 counts of manslaughter in fire that devastated Paradise, California," 16 June 2020 ApiJect, a public benefit corporation, has been one of the companies tapped in recent weeks to help address potential supply chain challenges -- notably the vial shortage as well as the capacity constraints in filling and packaging the vials.
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Alicia Wallace, CNN, "Finding a coronavirus vaccine is hard. Getting it to people is a whole other problem," 11 June 2020 The strength of a compliance program is one of the factors prosecutors weigh in deciding how to resolve a criminal case brought against a corporation.
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Dylan Tokar, WSJ, "Justice Department Adds New Detail to Compliance Evaluation Guidance," 1 June 2020 While Curt runs the show and Jim still serves as president of the corporation, Curt’s son Samuel has started to step into the role of operations manager at the company’s Anchorage location.
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Anchorage Daily News, "MAKing It: A community lifeline," 10 July 2020 Just in the last six months, both the Business Roundtable and the British Academy have made a fundamental change to their definition of the purpose of a corporation.
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Lauren Goode, Wired, "Global Warming. Inequality. Covid-19. And Al Gore Is ... Optimistic?," 8 July 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'corporation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for corporation
corporation
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of corporation
: a large business or organization that under the law has the rights and duties of an individual and follows a specific purpose
See the full definition for corporation in the English Language Learners Dictionary
corporation
nouncor·po·ra·tion | \ ˌkȯr-pə-ˈrā-shən \
\Kids Definition of corporation
: a business or organization authorized by law to carry on an activity with the rights and duties of a single person
corporation
nouncor·po·ra·tion | \ ˌkȯr-pə-ˈrā-shən \
\Legal Definition of corporation
: an invisible, intangible, artificial creation of the law existing as a voluntary chartered association of individuals that has most of the rights and duties of natural persons but with perpetual existence and limited liability — see also pierce — compare association, partnership, sole proprietorship
— benefit corporation
: a for-profit corporation whose purpose is to provide a benefit to society (such as improving the environment or promoting good health) in addition to making a profit for shareholders
— called also B corporation, public benefit corporation
— C corporation
: a corporation that pays taxes as a corporate entity — compare S corporation in this entry
Note: A corporation that does not choose to be an S corporation under the Internal Revenue Code is a C corporation.
— close corporation \ ˈklōs- \
: a corporation whose shares are held by a small number of individuals (as management) and not publicly traded specifically : small business corporation in this entry
— called also closely held corporation
— compare public corporation in this entry— foreign corporation
: a corporation organized under the laws of a state or government other than that in which it is doing business
— government corporation
: public corporation in this entry
— moneyed corporation
: a corporation (as a bank) authorized to engage in the investment, exchange, or lending of moneyed capital
— municipal corporation
: a political unit created or otherwise given corporate status (as by a charter) by a superior governing authority (as a state) and endowed with powers of local self-government (as eminent domain) broadly : a public corporation (as a utility) created to act as an agency of administration and local self-government
Note: As a result of its incorporation, a municipal corporation has the capacity to sue and be sued. Citizens as well as officials are usually considered part of a municipal corporation.
— professional corporation
: a corporation organized by one or more licensed individuals (as a doctor or lawyer) to provide professional services and obtain tax advantages
— public corporation
1 : a government-owned corporation (as a utility or railroad) engaged in a profit-making enterprise that may require the exercise of powers unique to government (as eminent domain)
— called also government corporation, publicly held corporation
2 : a business corporation whose stocks are publicly traded
— called also publicly held corporation
— compare close corporation in this entry— S corporation
: a small business corporation that is treated for federal tax purposes as a partnership
— called also subchapter S corporation
— compare c corporation in this entry— shell corporation
1 : a corporation that exists as a legal entity without independent assets or operations as an instrument by which another company or corporation can carry out dealings usually unrelated to its primary business
2 : a corporation formed for purposes of tax evasion or acquisition or merger rather than for a legitimate business purpose
— small business corporation
: a corporation described in section 1361 of the Internal Revenue Code that has 35 shareholders or less and only one class of stock and that may if eligible elect to be an S corporation and taxed accordingly
— subchapter S corporation
: s corporation in this entry
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Time Traveler for corporation
The first known use of corporation was in the 15th century
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