corral

1 of 2

noun

cor·​ral kə-ˈral 

-ˈrel

1

: a pen or enclosure for confining or capturing livestock

herded the cattle into the corral

2

: an enclosure made with wagons for defense of an encampment

corral

2 of 2

verb

corralled; corralling

transitive verb

1

: to enclose in a corral (see corral entry 1 sense 1)

corralled the horses

2

: to arrange (wagons) so as to form a corral (see corral entry 1 sense 2)

3

: collect, gather

corralling votes for the upcoming election

Synonyms

Noun

• cage
• coop
• hutch
• pen
• pound

Verb

• box (in)
• cage
• closet
• coop (up)
• encage
• encase
• enclose
• inclose
• envelop
• fence (in)
• hedge
• hem (in)
• house
• immure
• include
• mew (up)
• pen
• wall (in)

Examples of corral in a Sentence

Noun

the horses live in our corral, along with a cow

Verb

corralled everyone in the conference room for a speech by the CEO

corralled a scattering of stray pens and quickly stuffed them in the drawer to tidy the desk

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Return it to the parking lot corral or the store itself, if that’s closer. —Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 6 Oct. 2024

In one of many hidden rooms inside the labyrinth of Life and Trust, the floor turned into the soft earth of a corral, the walls were painted with a view of red-rock mesas, and a performer in a cowboy getup was circling another man who happened to be wearing a horse mask. —Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 1 Aug. 2024

Verb

In September 2023, in a particularly brazen move, the government corralled 51 people from across the political spectrum to stand trial in a single case. —Sarah E. Yerkes, Foreign Affairs, 4 Nov. 2024

The Harris campaign has corralled a central team of lawyers to handle its post-election legal efforts, telling ABC the Biden and Harris campaigns have been strategizing on their post-election litigation strategy since Biden announced his reelection in 2023. —Alison Durkee, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Spanish, from Vulgar Latin *currale enclosure for vehicles, from Latin currus cart, from currere to run — more at car

First Known Use

Noun

1582, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1847, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

corral

1 of 2 noun

cor·​ral kə-ˈral 

1

: a pen for keeping or capturing livestock

2

: an enclosure made with wagons for defense of a camp

corral

2 of 2 verb

corralled; corralling

1

: to keep in or as if in a corral

2

: surround entry 1, capture

3

: to arrange wagons so as to form a corral