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

As a field research program manager for the Phoenix Zoo, her work collecting data on the animals moving through the wildlife corridor is a core part of the zoo’s conservation mission. —John Leos, AZCentral.com, 3 Sep. 2025

Residents in several nearby corridors along Highways 108 and 120 were also ordered to evacuate. —Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2025

Brockington said the exhibition and the conversation is also part of the GGCHC’s efforts to share the history of Gullah Geechee people outside its coastal corridor. —Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2025

Its mission is to jam radars, blind missile batteries, and create corridors for follow-on forces. —Amir Husain, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 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