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

Last Sunday, Philly built corrals around poles in Center City, instead of greasing them, the Inquirer reports. —Isaac Avilucea, Axios, 29 Jan. 2025

The actual ranch home consisted of 31 rooms, with an adjacent guesthouse, a stable, corrals, a golf course and hiking trails. —Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2025

Verb

Ayo scored eight points and corralled five rebounds in 30 minutes in his absence. —Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 2 Mar. 2025

Efforts to corral the runaway bovine have been unsuccessful, according to a Facebook post from Kent Animal Control. —Terry Dickerson, NBC News, 21 Feb. 2025

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

Rhymes for corral

• canal
• chorale
• ghazal
• locale
• morale
• royale
• bal
• dal
• gal
• mal
• pal
• sal

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