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

Phoenix has opened a major expansion of its Valley Metro Rail system after an inauguration on Saturday The South Central Extension and Downtown Hub adds nearly five miles of new track and eight new stations, linking downtown Phoenix with the city's south-central corridor. —Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 June 2025

Here are a half dozen books worth the trip back into the classrooms and corridors of high school. —Miriam Gershow june 9, Literary Hub, 9 June 2025

As Graciela and Drummond travel deep under the palace’s tangle of hidden corridors to check the old water system that fed the lion fountain and dig into centuries-old documents, they are joined by Ana Madrizon and Ruben Torres. —Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 8 June 2025

Storms will start to dissipate along the I-25 corridor after 7 p.m. and on the Eastern Plains around 12 a.m. Northeast and north central Colorado may see winds up to 70 mph and egg-sized hail, NWS Boulder forecasters said. —Katie Langford, Denver Post, 6 June 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