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 of corridor

• region
• neck
• land
• part(s)

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

More development in Mountain Island In the meantime, more residents and developments will be added to the corridor or will have to use the corridor to reach major roadways, such as Brookshire Boulevard and Interstate 485. —Charlotte Observer, 17 Dec. 2025

Henry’s former home and studio are located in the Fisk-Meharry corridor of North Nashville. —Austin Hornbostel, Nashville Tennessean, 16 Dec. 2025

Back at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for his second year, Harry hears strange whispers echo through empty corridors — and then the attacks start. —Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 15 Dec. 2025

The achievement is all the more striking given that late November and early December are typically among the quietest stretches on China’s release calendar, a period when studios often avoid launching major titles ahead of the year-end holiday corridor. —Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 15 Dec. 2025

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

1777, 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