corral

noun cor·ral \ kə-ˈral , -ˈrel \

Updated on: 22 May 2018

Definition of corral

1 : a pen or enclosure for confining or capturing livestock

herded the cattle into the corral

2 : an enclosure made with wagons for defense of an encampment

See corral defined for English-language learners

See corral defined for kids

Examples of corral in a Sentence

the horses live in our corral, along with a cow

Recent Examples of corral from the Web

There’s also a working corral, and two barns including one with four stalls.

— cynthia billhartz gregorian, kansascity, "Two of Missouri's most expensive homes are near the KC area, website says | The Kansas City Star," 26 Apr. 2018
More than 45,000 wild horses are being held at government corrals and pastures at a cost to taxpayers of $50 million annually.

— Washington Post, "Federal protections sought for mustangs in Montana mountains," 4 Apr. 2018
In the early days of The Block, a beer garden-slash-food truck corral in downtown Petaluma, the overwhelmed staff struggled to keep all 30 taps flowing.

— janet fletcher, San Francisco Chronicle, "Inside Petaluma’s plans to transform its downtown," 17 Apr. 2018
Collins created a seating area around and inside the corral with more hay bales, old couches, and blankets.

— alexandra macon, Vogue, "A Wedding Under a Pink Sky and a Glowing Super Moon at Joshua Tree," 16 Apr. 2018
Two familiar faces who posed with Remy and his corral?

— jen juneau, PEOPLE.com, "Kelly Clarkson Takes Her Kids to Disneyland's Pixar Fest to Celebrate Son Remy's Birthday," 13 Apr. 2018
Most vineyards are on Pico, an island on which vines grow in small corrals made of black basalt stones.

— Bloomberg.com, "Volcanic Wines Are Heating Up Around the Globe," 30 Mar. 2018
Atkinson had lured them inside a corral trap from the pens days before.

— alex devoid, azcentral, "Back from the brink, the Sonoran pronghorn now roam an increasingly political landscape," 27 Mar. 2018
The gate to the bike corral at Ensign opens directly onto Irvine Avenue, spilling a stream of children into the intersection at Coral Place, Brine said.

— hillary davis, latimes.com, "City may use more signs, crossing guards and other safety measures near schools in Newport Heights," 16 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'corral.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of corral

Spanish, from Vulgar Latin *currale enclosure for vehicles, from Latin currus cart, from currere to run — more at car

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1582

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

corral Synonyms

Synonyms

cage, coop, hutch, pen, pound;

Related Words

kennel, run;

stockade;

cote, dovecote (also dovecot), henhouse;

Other Animal Husbandry Terms

apiary, bantam, calico, girth, hogwash, mast, rut

corral

verb

Definition of corral

corralled; corralling

transitive verb

1 : to enclose in a corral (see ¹corral 1)

corralled the horses

2 : to arrange (wagons) so as to form a corral (see ¹corral 2)

3 : collect, gather

corralling votes for the upcoming election

See corral defined for English-language learners

Examples of corral in a Sentence

corralled everyone in the conference room for a speech by the CEO
corralled a scattering of stray pens and quickly stuffed them in the drawer to tidy the desk

Recent Examples of corral from the Web

The police tried to use the soccer nets to corral the animal, tipping them over and awkwardly maneuvering the enormous nets around the field.

— Longreads, "Wild At Heart," 17 May 2018
Using Davis as a help defender would be an ideal way to corral Durant, but every now and then desperate times call for desperate measures.

— william guillory, NOLA.com, "Can Anthony Davis be the answer to slowing down Kevin Durant in Game 5?," 8 May 2018
Ryan Hartman started the scoring late in the first period, corralling a loose puck in front for the unassisted goal.

— jeremy fuchs, SI.com, "Stanley Cup Playoffs Roundup: Pens Even Series with Caps; Predators Snap Jets Home Win Streak," 4 May 2018
On a recent Friday night, a drag queen with Easter-egg hair and a shiny leotard briskly corralled incoming diners at the new Hamburger Mary’s on Castro Street.

— jonathan kauffman, San Francisco Chronicle, "Hamburger Mary’s grandiose return to SF comes with side of controversy," 30 Apr. 2018
The horse sped around the edge of the arena, kicking dirt onto the spectators gathered along the low, nearby wall while two charros corralled the horse onward.

— jasper scherer, San Antonio Express-News, "Charros and escaramuzas excite crowd at fan-favorite Fiesta Charreada," 30 Apr. 2018
Officers were working early Friday to corral other cattle that were running loose near the crash site.

— kaitlyn schwers, kansascity, "'40 to 50' cattle dead after truck overturns in Harrisonville, snarling I-49 traffic | The Kansas City Star," 27 Apr. 2018
Trump is kind of the opposite extreme, doing little to corral his top deputies.

— zack beauchamp, Vox, "The bombing of Syria reveals just how fundamentally incoherent Trump’s foreign policy is.," 17 Apr. 2018
Seeing the man armed with a knife, several men attempted to corral Elifritz in a corner using chairs.

— maxine bernstein, OregonLive.com, "David Elifritz identifies brother as man shot by Portland police, has many questions," 8 Apr. 2018

Origin and Etymology of corral

see ¹corral

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1847

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

corral Synonyms

Phrases

get together;

Other Animal Husbandry Terms

apiary, bantam, calico, girth, hogwash, mast, rut

CORRAL Defined for English Language Learners

corral

noun

Definition of corral for English Language Learners

: an area that is surrounded by a fence and that is used for holding animals (such as cows and horses) on a farm or ranch

corral

verb

Definition of corral for English Language Learners

: to gather and put (cows, horses, etc.) into a corral

CORRAL Defined for Kids

corral

noun cor·ral \ kə-ˈral \

Definition of corral for Students

: an enclosure for keeping or capturing animals

corral

verb

Definition of corral for Students

corralled; corralling

1 : to confine in or as if in an enclosure

corral cattle

2 : to gather or get control over

corralling votes

Learn More about corral

See words that rhyme with corral Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for corral Spanish Central: Translation of corral Nglish: Translation of corral for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about corral

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corral

Definition of corral

Examples of corral in a Sentence

Recent Examples of corral from the Web

Origin and Etymology of corral

corral Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Animal Husbandry Terms

corral

Definition of corral

Examples of corral in a Sentence

Recent Examples of corral from the Web

Origin and Etymology of corral

corral Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Phrases

Other Animal Husbandry Terms

CORRAL Defined for English Language Learners

corral

Definition of corral for English Language Learners

corral

Definition of corral for English Language Learners

CORRAL Defined for Kids

corral

Definition of corral for Students

corral

Definition of corral for Students

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