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

The two monsters humorously mimic their daughter, whose melodic voice reverberates through the dark corridor. —Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Nov. 2024

However, even after this drenching rainfall, much of the Northeast, including the I-95 corridor, would still need to receive several inches of rain in the coming weeks to significantly improve drought conditions. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 21 Nov. 2024

Several large oil and gas companies are building billions of tons of CO2 capacity in the Texas/Louisiana Gulf Coast industrial corridor region, an area responsible for about half the refining capacity in the U.S. and a major center for chemical production as well. —Erik Kobayashi-Solomon, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024

What's more, the church is near several projects, including the Interstate 375 corridor project, Eastern Market, the Dequindre Cut, and the Detroit riverfront, that are likely to spur more development and boost property values. —Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 20 Nov. 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