cornered

[ kawr-nerd ]

adjective

1. having corners (usually used in combination):

   a six-cornered room.

2. having a given number of positions; sided (usually used in combination):

   a four-cornered debate.

3. forced into an awkward, embarrassing, or inescapable position:

   a cornered debater; a cornered fox.

Other Words From

• un·cornered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cornered¹

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; corner, -ed ³

Example Sentences

Before Thursday's announcement, the IDF believed Sinwar was cornered below ground, hiding in tunnels somewhere beneath Gaza with his bodyguards, communicating with very few people for fear that his signal will be tracked and located.

From BBC

Google's new features come as it faces growing challengers in the search space, where it is estimated to have cornered more than 90% of the market globally.

From BBC

"Although capybara are generally friendly and inquisitive animals, the animal should not be approached as it could become unpredictable if alarmed or cornered."

From BBC

Be wary of the cornered sewer rat who feels threatened.

From Salon

There's plenty of criticism of Trump, but it's no longer coming from a place of cornered animals trying to survive.

From Salon