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 sleet and freezing rain could stretch as far south as the Interstate 10 corridor. —Allison Chinchar, CNN, 19 Jan. 2025

Strong Santa Ana winds are forecast for Monday and Tuesday, particularly 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., with sustained gusts of 45 mph to 65 mph expected across Santa Ana wind corridors of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. —Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2025

Forecasters say the winds could reach 70 mph along Interstate 8 east of Alpine, making driving difficult along one of the most important traffic corridors in the region. —Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Jan. 2025

High-injury corridors have been pinpointed for improvements, and some projects, including those along other segments of University Avenue, have been completed. —Jason Clayworth, Axios, 17 Jan. 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