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 warning came after a key naval information group had proposed alternative shipping corridors on Saturday, asking shipowners to consider transiting the strait along the southern route with their transponder signals on. — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 25 June 2026

Work began this month on Cole Ranch in south Denton, a 4,365-home community along the booming Interstate 35W corridor that stretches to FM 1171 in Flower Mound. — Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 June 2026

Traffic is expected to be impacted in Midtown Manhattan as the city initiates shuttle bus corridors and closed streets around Penn Station for fans going to MetLife Stadium, which FIFA calls New York New Jersey Stadium. — Mark Prussin, CBS News, 25 June 2026

The airline industry was very different at the time – a decade after deregulation and years before Amtrak’s high speed Acela trains would appear – PanAm Airways and Eastern Air Lines dominated travel in the Northeast corridor. — Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 24 June 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