- a group of people authorized by law to act as a legal personality and having its own powers, duties, and liabilities
- Also called: municipal corporation the municipal authorities of a city or town
- a group of people acting as one body
- See public corporation
- informal a large paunch or belly
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
cor•po•ra•tion /ˌkɔrpəˈreɪʃən/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Businessan association of individuals, created by law and having an existence apart from that of its members.
- a large business organization formed this way:working for a large, faceless, multinational corporation.
- Government[often: Corporation] the principal officials of a city or town.
- See collective noun.
cor•po•ra•tion
(kôr′pə rā′shən),USA pronunciation n.
cor′po•ra′tion•al, adj.
- Businessan 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.
- British Terms, Government(cap.) the group of principal officials of a borough or other municipal division in England.
- any group of persons united or regarded as united in one body.
- Informal Termsa paunch;
potbelly.
- Late Latin corporātiōn- (stem of corporātiō) guild, Latin: physical makeup, build. See corporate, -ion
- late Middle English 1400–50
- See collective noun.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
corporation /ˌkɔːpəˈreɪʃən/ n
'corporation' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
ABC
- ACT
- authority
- BBC
- BCNZ
- CBC
- CDC
- chamberlain
- City
- clerk
- close corporation
- coat of arms
- concession
- conglomerate
- cooperative
- corp.
- corporate
- corporation tax
- corporative
- court
- dramaturge
- empire
- Gates
- guildhall
- ICANN
- IFC
- incorporate
- Inland Revenue
- mandamus
- mayor
- mortmain
- National Enterprise Board
- person
- president
- private bill
- public corporation
- public utility
- RCA
- Remembrancer
- SABC
- ultra vires
- achievement
- Aerobee
- ailing
- amortize
- Amtrak
- annual report
- archive
- assumed bond
- authorized capital