What does "corporate" mean?

1. (relating to a large company) relating to a large company or business group. 2. (collective or unified) shared by all the members of a group. 3. (sterile or soulless) describing something that feels boring, plain, or too professional, like it was made by a big company. 4. (a business bond) a type of investment where you lend money to a large company. 5. (senior management) the high-level managers or the main office of a large company.

corporate

adj. · n.

US //ˈkɔɹpɝət// UK //kˈɔːpəɹət// cor·po·rate

1 relating to a large company (adj.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

relating to a large company or business group.

relating to a corporation or large business entity.

Example

The company moved its corporate headquarters to a larger building in the city center.

Example

The board of directors is currently reviewing the corporate strategy to ensure long-term sustainability in a volatile global market.
- private
- individual
2 collective or unified (adj.)
C1 Advanced Formal

shared by all the members of a group.

belonging to or shared by a group as a whole; collective.

Example

The staff has a corporate responsibility to keep the office clean.

Example

The success of the project was a result of the corporate effort of the entire research department over the last decade.
- individual
- personal

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3 sterile or soulless (adj.)
C1 Advanced Informal

describing something that feels boring, plain, or too professional, like it was made by a big company.

characterised by a lack of personality or originality; sterile and inoffensive in a way associated with large organisations.

Example

The new hotel lobby feels a bit too corporate and cold for my taste.

Example

Critics argued that the artist's new style was too corporate, lacking the raw energy that had defined her earlier work.
- creative
- unique
4 a business bond (n.)
C1 Advanced Technical Finance

a type of investment where you lend money to a large company.

a debt security issued by a corporation to raise capital.

Example

He decided to invest his savings in high-yield corporates.

Example

The portfolio manager increased the fund's exposure to investment-grade corporates as interest rates began to stabilize.
- bond
- security
5 senior management (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

the high-level managers or the main office of a large company.

the senior management or the central administrative department of a corporation.

Example

We need to get approval from corporate before we can hire more staff.

Example

The local branch managers often feel that corporate is out of touch with the daily challenges faced by retail employees.
- headquarters
- management

Etymology 1

The adjective is first attested in 1429, the noun in 1849; from Middle English corporat(e) (“(if a true adjective) corporeal, physical, embodied; (participle/participial adjective) incorporated; corporated, constituted as a legal corporation”, used as the past participle of corporaten), from Latin corporātus, perfect passive participle of corporō (“to make into a body”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from corpus (“body”, oblique stem in corp-) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). The noun was derived by substantivization from the adjective, see -ate (noun-forming suffix).

Etymology 2

First attested in 1398; from Middle English corporaten (“to incorporate, assimilate; to constitute as a legal corporation”), either from corporat(e) (“(if a true adjective) corporeal, physical”, also used as the past participle of corporaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix) or directly from Latin corporātus + -en, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.

Idioms2 entries