corporation

corporation — noun

1. A business organization, typically with many employees, that is legally establis

1.nounB2
Definition

A business organization, typically with many employees, that is legally established to operate as a single unit — for example, Apple Inc. or Toyota Motor Corporation.

Example

Michael applied for a job at a large corporation that makes medical equipment.

The corporation is planning to open new offices across Asia next year.

collocation: corporation + is planning to (future arrangement)

Common collocations
  • large corporation
  • multinational corporation
  • global corporation
  • run a corporation
  • head a corporation
  • corporation tax
Synonyms
  • company

    broader term for any commercial organization, of any size

  • firm

    often used for professional-service businesses like law or accounting

  • enterprise

    more formal, can refer to any size; often suggests initiative and scope

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

a/an + corporation

the + corporation

corporation + verb (operates/employs)

Usage Note

Common in compound nouns like corporation tax and corporate law. Often preceded by adjectives such as large, multinational, or global.

Common Mistakes

I started working for a big corporation company.
I started working for a big corporation.
corporation already includes the idea of a company, so adding company is redundant.
She runs a small corporation with three people.
She runs a small company with three people.
corporation suggests a large, formally structured organization, not a tiny operation.

2. The group of elected officials and employees who manage public services like was

2.nounC1
Definition

The group of elected officials and employees who manage public services like waste collection, road maintenance, and local planning in a city or town.

Example

The city corporation has decided to repair all the street lights before the new year.

pattern: the + [city/town] + corporation for municipal body

Residents complained to the corporation about the rubbish collection in their neighborhood.

Common collocations
  • city corporation
  • town corporation
  • municipal corporation
  • corporation services
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

the + [city/town] + corporation

the + corporation + of + [place]

Usage Note

Chiefly British English. In the US, similar entities are usually called city council, municipal government, or city hall.

Common Mistakes

The corporation cleaned the streets.' (ambiguous)
The city corporation cleaned the streets.
add city or town before corporation to clearly refer to the municipal body.

3. Any group of people or businesses that the law considers to be one legal actor —

3.nounC1
Definition

Any group of people or businesses that the law considers to be one legal actor — able to own property, sign contracts, and be taken to court, separate from the individuals who created it.

Example

A corporation can own property and sign contracts just like an individual person.

pattern: corporation + can + own/sign (legal capacity)

The law treats the charity as a separate corporation from its founders.

Common collocations
  • create a corporation
  • form a corporation
  • set up a corporation
  • dissolve a corporation
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • individual

    a single human being, distinct from an artificial legal person

Grammar Patterns

create + a + corporation

a/an + corporation

as + a + corporation

Usage Note

Subject is usually a formal entity name or a noun phrase. Frequently used in contrast with individual in legal contexts to distinguish an organization from a human being.

Common Mistakes

The corporation is a person.
The law treats a corporation as a person
it can own things and be sued.' — person here is a legal term meaning entity with rights, not a human being.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Company is the most general term for any commercial organization that sells goods or services — it can be tiny (a local shop) or huge (a multinational). Corporation specifically refers to a large organization that has been legally incorporated as a single entity with its own rights and duties. Firm traditionally describes a partnership or professional practice (a law firm, an accounting firm), though in everyday speech it often overlaps with company. Enterprise is a more formal, sometimes aspirational term that emphasizes initiative and scope — a tech startup or a state-owned enterprise. Business is the broadest of all, covering any commercial activity or organization, from a street vendor to a global chain. In practice: Microsoft is a corporation; your local grocery store is a business or a company, but not a corporation. The partners at a law firm own it personally, whereas a corporation's ownership is spread across shareholders.

company ↗firm ↗enterprise ↗business ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • corporation headquarters
  • corporation law

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Corporation comes from Latin corporare ('to form into a body'), which itself comes from corpus ('body'). In English the word has been used since the 1400s for organized groups of people acting as one body — originally guilds and municipal bodies, and later for business companies that could operate as a single legal 'person' with their own rights and responsibilities.