Corporate meaning of the word

: of, relating to, or formed into a unified body of individuals

We have to change the corporate structure to survive.

A bunch of corporate types in suits were sitting at the table in the conference room.

He is one of the most powerful men in corporate America.

The business is a corporate entity.

Recent Examples on the Web

Ripley said Sinclair Broadcast’s new organization would simplify its corporate structure and improve transparency of financial disclosures.


—Lorraine Mirabella, Baltimore Sun, 3 Apr. 2023




That’s why corporate America’s silence in the wake of the latest mass shooting at a school in Nashville is so jarring.


—Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 3 Apr. 2023




Mahmood joined the company in 2018 as SVP of corporate development.


—Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2023




Nexstar has flexed its corporate muscles in recent years, acquiring not only dozens of TV stations, but TV’s CW broadcast network and The Hill political-news outlet.


—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 3 Apr. 2023




Rahman said their donation, about 13,000 bottles of water, probably wasn’t much compared with those by large corporate donors.


—Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2023




Still, as voters examine the emerging GOP field, Ms. Haley’s record on Boeing has led some to portray the former governor and United Nations ambassador as someone prone to reversals and tied to the corporate establishment.


—John Mccormick, WSJ, 3 Apr. 2023




The first step was adding a turbocharger to the corporate four-cylinder in 1978.


—Csaba Csere, Car and Driver, 2 Apr. 2023




Fashion Week in Decentraland’s metaverse is a colorful hodgepodge of corporate branding, NFT collecting and virtual networking set in a sometimes glitchy video game environment.


—Maria Gracia Santillana Linares, Forbes, 2 Apr. 2023


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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘corporate.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Etymology

borrowed from Latin corporātus, past participle of corporāre «to form into a body, form (an organized social group),» verbal derivative of corpor-, corpus «body, organized group of people» — more at midriff

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of corporate was
in the 15th century

Other forms: corporately

Corporate means having to do with a corporation. Playing golf can be a part of corporate culture. A corporate jet is one owned by the company and used for company business.

When people refer to corporate as a noun, as in «I have to ask corporate,» it’s actually just a shortening of «corporate headquarters.» People tend to be on their best behavior at work, where money and advancement are on the line. Therefore, corporate behavior is often associated with being eager to please those in authority.

Definitions of corporate

1. adjective

   of or belonging to a corporation

   “corporate rates”

   “corporate structure”

2. adjective

   organized and maintained as a legal corporation

   “a special agency set up in
   corporate form”

   synonyms:

   incorporated

   organized

   formed into a structured or coherent whole

3. adjective

   done by or characteristic of individuals acting together

   “the
   corporate good”

   synonyms:

   collective

   joint

   united or combined

4. adjective

   possessing or existing in bodily form

   “`
   corporate‘ is an archaic term”

   synonyms:

   bodied, corporal, embodied, incarnate

   corporeal, material

   having material or physical form or substance