corporation - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com

Most of us think of corporations as companies––Kodak is one, Kellogg another, Disney a third. In reality, a corporation has a very particular legal meaning––it's a company that registers with a state government such that it has the same rights and responsibilities as a person.

Know the word corpse? It means a dead body, and comes from the Latin corpus "body." One way to remember corporation is that it turns a company into a body––a body that is considered a person in many respects in the eyes of the law. Corporations must pay taxes and follow laws. Because it is a separate entity, when a corporation fails, its employees and managers are not responsible for its debts.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: corporation

1	n	a business firm whose articles of incorporation have been approved in some state
2	n	slang for a paunch

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: corporation

1

n a business firm whose articles of incorporation have been approved in some state

Synonyms:: corp

Types:: show 12 types...; hide 12 types...; conglomerate, empire
a group of diverse companies under common ownership and run as a single organization; large cap
a corporation with a large capitalization; small cap
a corporation with a small capitalization; close corporation, closed corporation, private corporation, privately held corporation
a corporation owned by a few people; shares have no public market; closely held corporation
stock is publicly traded but most is held by a few shareholders who have no plans to sell; shell corporation, shell entity
a company that is incorporated but has no assets or operations; FDIC, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
a federally sponsored corporation that insures accounts in national banks and other qualified institutions; FHLMC, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, Freddie Mac
a corporation authorized by Congress to provide a secondary market for residential mortgages; FNMA, Fannie Mae, Federal National Mortgage Association
a federally chartered corporation that purchases mortgages; Boy Scouts of America
a corporation that operates through a national council that charters local councils all over the United States; the purpose is character building and citizenship training; publishing conglomerate, publishing empire
a conglomerate of publishing companies; family business
a corporation that is entirely owned by the members of a single family

Type of:: business firm, firm, house
the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments

2

n slang for a paunch

Synonyms:: bay window, pot, potbelly, tummy

Type of:: belly, paunch
a protruding abdomen