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

Ankara now aims to create a 30- to 40-kilometer (19 to 25-mile) deep security corridor along the joint border with Iraq, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler told journalists last month. —Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Suzan Fraser, Quartz, 22 Apr. 2024

They’ve been besieged at Cooper Union — forced to hide in attics and spirited away from a braying mob through secret corridors. —The Editors, National Review, 22 Apr. 2024

The Odesa port and two others on the nearby seacoast have been a particular target of Russian wrath for the last eight months, since Ukraine managed to open a coast-hugging 350-mile Black Sea grain corridor to the Bosporus strait. —Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2024

German citizens in the Polish corridor, another legacy of World War I, would provide the excuse to attack Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, launching World War II in Europe. —TIME, 16 Apr. 2024

The most concentrated corridor for severe weather on Tuesday, especially for hail and tornadoes, is expected over southern Iowa and Missouri during the mid-afternoon and early evening. —Allison Chinchar, CNN, 14 Apr. 2024

On the way, the percussionists played in the subway exit — a tinny corridor lined with tile — as well as in Kevin Roche’s postmodern lobby of 60 Wall Street (now closed for renovation and likely demolition), before arriving at Federal Hall. —Joshua Barone, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024

Rounds of heavy rain and the occasional rumble of thunder will affect the Great Lakes, interior northeast and the I-95 corridor from Washington, D.C., to Boston from Thursday night into Friday. —Kathryn Prociv, NBC News, 11 Apr. 2024

As crews work to finish a $15 million construction project aimed at safe turning, commuters who frequent Sacramento’s Broadway corridor should expect detours, according to a news release from the city. —Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 9 Apr. 2024

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