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

Because the ferry, naturally, didn’t have one big corridor, an overflow room projected a live feed of the main stage (shaped like a blocky ‘T’). — Antonio Ferme, Variety, 19 Sep. 2026

This spring, a second ship, AmaMelodia, is formally christened, doubling capacity on a route between Cartagena and Barranquilla through jazz towns, a UNESCO World Heritage city, and some of the richest bird-watching corridors on the continent. — Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Sep. 2026

Availability rates in a few corridors — Park Avenue, the World Trade Center — are under 10 percent, rents in some buildings have gone up 20 percent since the winter, and brokers are even starting to see bidding wars over prime office spaces. — Kim Velsey, Curbed, 18 Sep. 2026

The $206 million project is designed to improve safety and traffic flow along the corridor. — Cbs News Atlanta Digital Team, CBS News, 18 Sep. 2026

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