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

• belt
• land
• neck
• part(s)
• region
• tract
• zone

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

Amtrak has a long-term plan that envisions adding higher-speed corridors throughout the country by 2035. —Kris Van Cleave, CBS News, 20 Nov. 2023

The corridor’s challenges also are exacerbated by violent incidents over the past year that drew national attention, including assaults on a member of Congress and a staffer. —Paul Schwartzman, Washington Post, 20 Nov. 2023

About 300,000 vehicles use the freeway corridor daily. —Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 19 Nov. 2023

My life is pretty relaxing right now, but there’s a chilling period each day that derails all of my sleekest and sturdiest emotional trains, and that’s the dark corridor between 8:30 and 8:42 a.m., when my two daughters leave for high school. —Heather Havrilesky, New York Times, 18 Nov. 2023

Under her leadership, the group raised awareness about the importance of wetlands and worked with the community on saving land around Lake Calavera and wildlife corridors in Carlsbad and Oceanside. —Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Nov. 2023

Well over 100,000 Gazans have already fled south using the corridor, according to estimates from the U.N. and the IDF. —NBC News, 14 Nov. 2023

From midnight to about noon local time on November 14, more than 700 earthquakes were recorded along the magma corridor, according to the Icelandic ​​Meteorological Office, most of which were micro-quakes. —Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Nov. 2023

Each offers a boundary in the patchwork of forest ecology, a corridor for animal movement and a home for the creatures seeking hiding places. —Robert Thorson, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Nov. 2023

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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

1719, 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