corner

Examples

• All

• This guy is painting me into a corner.

  Bad Boys (1995)

• Don't let him trap you in a corner.

  Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher (2022)

• Andrew knew the man was in a corner; the crowd outside wanted blood for blood.

  Fiction book (1990)

• I'm the man to have in your corner when the shooting starts.

  Fiction book (1991)

• Suddenly winter seems to be just around the corner, which can feel a little depressing.

  Academic text (2012)

• Looks like you've painted yourself into a corner.

  Big Eyes (2014)

• Maybe we have to admit we've backed ourselves into a corner, and only nuclear power can save civilization.

  Academic text (2007)

• Other stories involved employee theft, kickbacks to vendors, and cutting corners on product quality.

  Academic text (1995)

• After crushing, the packaging is piled in a corner of the pad and left to drain.

  Academic text (1997)

• After making a series of bad decisions, she realized she had painted herself into a corner with no way out.

Synonyms

P

pickle

vscorner

• Informal

48 6.0

A difficult situation that is hard to get out of

is more formal and often describes near impossible escape

I

in a tight spot

vscorner

• Informal

8 4.2

In a difficult situation that is hard to get out of

focuses on extreme difficulty and near impossibility of escape

M

mire

vscorner

5 8.1

A difficult situation that is hard to escape

is more extreme and often impossible to escape

T

tricky situation

vscorner

4 3.7

A difficult situation that is hard to deal with

emphasizes actual impossibility of escape rather than complexity

Antonyms

F

freedom

489 1.1

Not having to do something a rule requires

E

escape

320 1.1

An act of getting away from a place where you are kept or are in danger

Idioms

A

around the corner

260 1.9

Very near in place or happening soon

T

to turn the corner

14 4.2

To begin to get better after a difficult time

P

to paint (oneself) into a corner

• Informal

8 7.4

Put yourself in a difficult situation with no easy way out

I

in someone's corner

• Informal

1 4.6

Support someone during difficult times

S

stuck in a corner

• Informal

1 7.5

In a difficult situation with no clear way out

F

to fight one's corner

• UK

7.0

Defend your ideas or what you want when others disagree

Compounds

S

street corner

63 1.0

The place where two streets meet

C

corner pocket

5 3.7

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

C

corner kick

3 2.4

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

C

catty-corner

• US

1 7.9

At an angle across the corner of a street or room

B

blind corner

1 3.3

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

C

chimney corner

• Archaic

1 6.3

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

C

corner cabinet

1 3.1

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

C

corner post

1 4.6

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

A

amen corner

1 9.9

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

K

kitty-corner

• US

1 7.9

Diagonally across the street from another place

S

shadowy corner

1 3.7

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

C

cobwebby corner

7.8

A corner covered in cobwebs that looks unused

C

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

H

hole-and-corner

• Archaic

9.3

A secret way of doing things to hide small dishonest acts

H

hole-in-corner

• Archaic

9.9

Hidden and small, often secret and unimportant

How Trapped

corner

• Informal

197 6.2

no-win situation

11 5.3

tricky situation

4 3.7

problem

∞ 1.2

Surface Forms

Etymology