/ kəˈrʌpʃn; NAmE / noun
1.
[ U ] dishonest or illegal behaviour, especially of people in authority :
allegations of bribery and corruption
The new district attorney has promised to fight police corruption.
2.
[ U ] the act or effect of making sb change from moral to immoral standards of behaviour :
He claimed that sex and violence on TV led to the corruption of young people.
3.
[ C , usually sing. ] the form of a word or phrase that has become changed from its original form in some way :
The word 'holiday' is a corruption of 'holy day'.
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : via Old French from Latin corruptio(n-) , from corrumpere mar, bribe, destroy, from cor- altogether + rumpere to break.