I. cor ‧ ner 1 S1 W2 /ˈkɔːnə $ ˈkɔːrnər/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: cornere , from corne 'horn, corner' , from Latin cornu 'horn, point' ]
1 . WHERE TWO LINES/EDGES MEET [countable] the point at which two lines or edges meet:
He pulled a dirty handkerchief out by its corner and waved it at me.
corner of
Their initials were sewn on the corner of every pillow.
in the corner (of something)
The TV station’s name appears in the corner of the screen.
on the corner (of something)
Jessie sat on the corner of her bed.
three-cornered/four-cornered etc
a three-cornered hat
2 . ROAD [countable usually singular]
a) the point where two roads meet
corner of
Ruth walked with her as far as the corner of the road.
on the corner
The hotel is on the corner of 5th and Maine.
at the corner
Several women were standing at the corner, talking to two police officers.
kids hanging around on street corners
b) a point in a road where it turns sharply:
He had tried to take the corner too quickly, and had lost control of the car.
The petrol station is around the corner.
3 . CORNER OF A ROOM/BOX [countable usually singular] the place inside a room or box where two walls or sides meet
in the corner (of something)
There was an old piano in the corner of the living room.
corner table/seat
I reserved a corner table in my favourite restaurant.
4 . MOUTH/EYE [countable] the sides of your mouth or eyes:
A tear appeared in the corner of his eye.
5 . DIFFICULT SITUATION [singular] a difficult situation that you cannot easily escape from
back/box/force/push somebody into a corner (=put someone into a situation where they do not have any choices about what to do)
Don’t let your enemies back you into a corner.
The writers have painted themselves into a corner by killing off all the most popular characters in the first series.
He found himself in a tight corner (=a very difficult situation) looking for a way to get out.
6 . SPORTS [countable]
a) a kick or hit that one team is allowed to take from one of the corners of their opponent’s end of the field
b) any of the four corners of the area in which the competitors fight in ↑ boxing or ↑ wrestling , especially one of the two corners where the competitors go in between ↑ round s
7 . DISTANT PLACE [countable] a distant place in another part of the world
corner of
She’s gone off to work in some remote corner of the world.
People came from the four corners of the world (=from lots of different places) to make America their new home.
8 . see something out of the corner of your eye to notice something accidentally, without turning your head towards it or looking for it:
Out of the corner of her eye she saw the dog running towards her.
9 . (just) around/round the corner
a) near:
There’s a bus stop just around the corner.
b) likely to happen soon:
Economic recovery is just around the corner.
10 . turn the corner to start to become successful or to feel better or happier, after a time when you have been unsuccessful, ill, or unhappy:
We knew Dad had turned the corner when he started complaining about the hospital food.
11 . fight your corner/fight sb’s corner British English to try very hard to defend yourself in a discussion or argument, or to do this for someone else:
My line manager supports me, and says she’s willing to fight my corner.
12 . cut corners to save time, money, or energy by doing things quickly and not as carefully as you should:
Don’t try to cut corners when you’re decorating.
13 . cut a corner to go across the corner of something, especially a road, instead of staying next to the edges
14 . have/get a corner on something to be the only company, organization etc that has a particular product, ability, advantage etc:
London does not have a corner on film festivals.
The company admitted reducing prices to get a corner on the market.
⇨ ↑ kitty-corner
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1)
■ adjectives
▪ the top/bottom corner
The ball flew straight into the top corner of the net.
▪ the left/left-hand corner
We followed the path to the left-hand corner of the field.
▪ the right/right-hand corner
Put your address in the top right-hand corner of the page.
▪ the southeast/northwest etc corner of something
I was staying in the southwest corner of the island.
▪ the four corners of something
Each team was based in one of the four corners of the pool.
▪ the far/opposite corner of something (=furthest from where you are)
Something was moving in the far right corner of the garden.
▪ a quiet corner
He sat on his own in a quiet corner of the library.
▪ a shady corner (=protected from the sun - used about outdoor places)
Plant the herbs in a shady corner of the garden.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + corner
▪ a tight/sharp corner (=very curved and difficult to drive around)
Go slowly because there’s a sharp corner up ahead.
▪ a blind corner (=one that you cannot see around)
The car had come speeding around a blind corner much too fast.
▪ a street corner
There’s a newspaper shop on the street corner.
■ verbs
▪ turn the corner (=go around a corner)
I walked on and turned the corner into Church Road.
▪ come/go around a corner
At that moment, a police car came around the corner.
▪ round a corner (=come around it)
A tall good-looking man rounded the corner.
▪ take a corner (=go around a corner in a car)
He took the corner too fast and crashed into a tree.
▪ disappear around a corner
We watched the two boys disappear around the corner.
▪ cut a corner (=not go all around the edge of a corner)
I crashed into a motorcyclist who had cut the corner.
▪ stand on a corner
She stood on the corner saying goodnight to Michael.
II. corner 2 BrE AmE verb
1 . [transitive] to force a person or animal into a position from which they cannot easily escape:
Once the dog was cornered, he began to growl.
2 . [transitive] to go to someone who is trying to avoid you, and make them listen to you:
Later, he cornered Jenny on the stairs and asked her what was wrong.
3 . corner the market to gain control of the whole supply of a particular kind of goods:
They’ve been trying to corner the market by buying up all the wheat in sight.
4 . [intransitive] if a car corners, it goes around a corner or bend in the road
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ catch to stop someone who is trying to escape, especially by running after them and then holding them:
He raced after her, but he couldn’t catch her.
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The police caught the bank robbers after a car chase through the city.
▪ arrest if the police arrest someone, they take him or her to a police station because they think that person has done something illegal:
Wayne was arrested for dangerous driving.
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The police arrested him and charged him with murder.
▪ apprehend formal if the police apprehend someone they think has done something illegal, they catch him or her:
The two men were later apprehended after they robbed another store.
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The killers were never apprehended.
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All of the kidnappers were apprehended and convicted.
▪ capture to catch an enemy or a criminal in order to keep them as a prisoner:
The French king was captured by the English at the battle of Poitiers in 1356.
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The gunmen were finally captured after a shoot-out with the police.
▪ take somebody prisoner to catch someone, especially in a war, in order to keep them as a prisoner:
350 soldiers were killed and another 300 taken prisoner.
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Ellison was taken prisoner by the Germans during the retreat to Dunkirk.
▪ trap to make someone go to a place from which they cannot escape, especially by using your skill and intelligence:
Police trapped the man inside a bar on the city’s southside.
▪ corner to force someone into a place from which they cannot escape:
He was cornered outside the school by three gang members.