corporation

American  

[kawr-puh-rey-shuhn] / ˌkɔr pəˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

1. an association of individuals, created by law or under authority of law, having a continuous existence independent of the existences of its members, and powers and liabilities distinct from those of its members.

2. Corporation, the group of principal officials of a borough or other municipal division in England.

3. any group of persons united or regarded as united in one body.

4. Informal. a paunch; potbelly.

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corporation British  

/ ˌkɔːpəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. a group of people authorized by law to act as a legal personality and having its own powers, duties, and liabilities

2. Also called: municipal corporation.  the municipal authorities of a city or town

3. a group of people acting as one body

4. See public corporation

5. informal a large paunch or belly

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corporation Cultural  

1. A business organization owned by a group of stockholders, each of whom enjoys limited liability (that is, each can be held responsible for losses only up to the limit of his or her investment). A corporation has the ability to raise capital by selling stock to the public.

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Grammar

See collective noun.

Other Word Forms

• corporational adjective
• multicorporation noun
• noncorporation noun
• subcorporation noun
• supercorporation noun

Etymology

Origin of corporation

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Late Latin corporātiōn- (stem of corporātiō ) “guild,” Latin: “physical makeup, build”; corporate, -ion

Example Sentences

The BBC knew about a police investigation into DJ Scott Mills in 2017, the corporation has confirmed.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

The mayor’s office said the corporation operates outside government and that City Hall doesn’t oversee it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

It was never intended to shield a corporation from the consequences of its own engineering decisions.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026

But it could also signal a deeper problem with the corporation.

From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026

With all this in mind I wrote to the head office of a great corporation which manufactures trucks.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

Related Words

• business
• company
• enterprise