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

• 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

Nevertheless, the Arctic passage was two weeks faster than the traditional route via Egypt's Suez Canal—the fastest sea corridor since the Victorian era—and half the time of the Cape of Good Hope route around South Africa. —Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025

Impacts from a typical La Niña cut across the continental United States, having opposite effects in the south and north — and causing unpredictability in the heavily populated Northeast corridor. —Doyle Rice, USA Today, 21 Oct. 2025

Environmental And Staffing Strains Show In Parks On high demand corridors, the tradeoffs are visible. —Monica Sanders, Forbes.com, 21 Oct. 2025

More notable, however, is a four-minute sequence in which the film turns into an actual first-person shooter, and Reaper runs through corridors brandishing guns, grenades, and, of course, the franchise's iconic chainsaw to exterminate some unwanted pests. —Richard Edwards, Space.com, 21 Oct. 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

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