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to corner

to corner

93 4.9
To force a person or animal into a place they cannot leave
  • verb
  • /ˈkɔrnər/
translation icon : acorralar
  • We've got them cornered about two miles down the road.

I just feel like I've been like cornered into this direction.

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Examples

  • Well, it looks like Dog Man has just cornered Petey, the World's Most Evilest Cat.

  • Irene had us cornered out there for 15 minutes.

  • This is what happens when you corner a rat.

  • And my father used to say, never corner a weak man, you will regret it.

  • Now it seemed she had him cornered, and there was no escape.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • In less than a minute, they had the children cornered against a tall bank.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Some of the Italian boys cornered Jimmy one afternoon and demanded he empty his pockets for them.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Jeff hurries after him and catches up, cornering Billy between two cars, trying to calm him.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • With the determination of a hedgehog, she cornered Brenna in the back of the stables and then lunged forward.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • When they realized he was cornered in the alley, they knew he had no way to escape.

Synonyms

to trap
vsto corner
919 2.6

To catch and hold someone or something so they cannot leave

forces a person or animal into an inescapable situation rather than trapping by device
to hem in
vsto corner
6 6.7

Surround a person or thing so they cannot leave

pushes someone into a single place they cannot escape rather than just surrounding
to cage in
vsto corner
2 5.4

To put someone or something into a small space with bars to stop them moving freely

drives into an inescapable position by force rather than by fixed barriers
to box into a corner
vsto corner
  • Informal
1 7.8

To leave someone with few or no good choices

forces into a situation from which escape is not possible
to coop up
vsto corner
  • Informal
1 6.4

To keep a person or animal inside a small space like a cage

means forcing into a place with no escape rather than merely small confinement
to tree
vsto corner
  • US
1 9.3

To force a person or animal up a tree so they cannot escape

is the general act of forcing into an inescapable situation without a specific location

Antonyms

1.8

To let someone or something go free from being held

Idioms

Very near in place or happening soon

To begin to get better after a difficult time

Put yourself in a difficult situation with no easy way out

1 4.6

Support someone during difficult times

1 7.5

In a difficult situation with no clear way out

Defend your ideas or what you want when others disagree

Phrasal Verbs

To control most of the supply of a product so you can set its price and keep competitors out

1 7.8

To leave someone with few or no good choices

Compounds

63 1.0

The place where two streets meet

A pocket at a corner of a pool table where balls fall

3 2.4

A kick in football taken from the corner after a defender last touched the ball for the attacking team

1 7.9

At an angle across the corner of a street or room

1 3.3

A corner on a road where drivers cannot see around because something blocks the view

chimney corner
  • Archaic
1 6.3

A corner of a room next to a fireplace where people sit to feel warm

A cabinet made to fit into a room corner for storing or showing things

1 4.6

A vertical post at the corner of a building that supports the walls

1 9.9

A place in a church where people sit and loudly say amen during a service

1 7.9

Diagonally across the street from another place

A dim part of a room or place where people cannot see well

A corner covered in cobwebs that looks unused

corner man
  • Archaic
9.9

A man in old minstrel shows who sits at one end of performers and makes jokes with the main speaker

hole-and-corner
  • Archaic
9.3

A secret way of doing things to hide small dishonest acts

hole-in-corner
  • Archaic
9.9

Hidden and small, often secret and unimportant

How Trapped

to corner
93 4.9
trap
752 2.0
to drive
3.6
to push
1.0
to nudge
33 3.8

Surface Forms

corner infinitive
cornered past
cornered past participle
cornering present participle
corners third person singular

Etymology

To corner someone or an animal means to force them into a place they cannot escape, and this idea links back to the noun corner and the Latin cornu 'horn', suggesting being pushed up against a horn-like point or wall. So being 'cornered' is being trapped.