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

The slick lobby was guarded by uniformed doormen and the elevator took me to a long polished corridor leading to a big mahogany door. —Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2025

Mayo is a community activist and nonprofit leader whose organization Transforming Nations Ford focuses on improving the Nations Ford and Arrowood corridor. —Nick Sullivan, Charlotte Observer, 5 Nov. 2025

The artificial plateau made from earth, with connecting causeways, canals and corridors, was built in southeastern Mexico 3,050 years ago and used for around 300 years. —Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2025

The challenging five-hour round-trip hike follows the Rio Una upstream, and as the canyon narrows, steep rock walls rise on all sides to create a stone corridor where only a sliver of sunlight is visible. —Aaron Randolph, Travel + Leisure, 5 Nov. 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