What does "corrupt" mean?

1. (dishonest/bribery) willing to act dishonestly, especially by taking money to do something wrong. 2. (damaged data) containing errors or being broken so that it cannot be used by a computer. 3. (to ruin someone's morals) to encourage someone to start behaving in a bad or dishonest way. 4. (to damage a file) to cause a computer file or piece of information to have errors. 5. (to rot) to decay or become rotten.

How do you use "corrupt"?

In modern English, 'rot' or 'decay' is almost always preferred for physical matter.

corrupt

adj. · v.

US //kɝˈəpt// UK //kəɹˈʌpt// cor·rupt

1 dishonest/bribery (adj.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

willing to act dishonestly, especially by taking money to do something wrong.

exhibiting a willingness to act dishonestly in return for money or personal gain; typically used of officials or institutions.

Example

The corrupt official was arrested for taking money from the construction company.

Example

The investigation revealed a corrupt network of police officers who had been protecting local gangs for decades.
- dishonest
- unethical
- venal
2 damaged data (adj.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Technical Computing

containing errors or being broken so that it cannot be used by a computer.

containing errors or having been altered in a way that renders data or files unreadable or invalid.

Example

I couldn't open the document because the file was corrupt.

Example

The system crash resulted in several corrupt database entries that required manual restoration from the previous night's backup.
- intact
- valid

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3 to ruin someone's morals (v.)
C1 Advanced Formal

to encourage someone to start behaving in a bad or dishonest way.

to cause someone to become morally depraved or to lead them away from accepted standards of behavior.

Example

Some people worried that the violent films would corrupt the minds of young children.

Example

The prosecutor argued that the older man had used his influence to corrupt the youth and involve him in the criminal enterprise.
- deprave
- pervert
- warp
- purify
- reform
4 to damage a file (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Technical Computing

to cause a computer file or piece of information to have errors.

to introduce errors into a computer file or data stream, often resulting in a loss of functionality.

Example

A sudden power cut can corrupt the data on your hard drive.

Example

The virus was designed to corrupt the boot sector of the drive, making the entire operating system impossible to load.
- damage
- taint
5 to rot (v.)
C2 Proficiency Archaic Technical Science

to decay or become rotten.

to become putrid, tainted, or impure through the process of decomposition.

Example

The ancient scrolls had begun to corrupt after years of exposure to the damp air.

Example

In the absence of proper preservation, the organic matter will eventually corrupt and return to the soil.

Usage

In modern English, 'rot' or 'decay' is almost always preferred for physical matter.

Origin

From Middle English corrupten, derived from Latin corruptus, past participle of corrumpō (“to destroy, ruin, injure, spoil, corrupt, bribe”), from com- (“together”) + rumpō (“to break in pieces”).