corruption
noun
cor·rup·tion
kə-ˈrəp-shən 
1
a
: dishonest or illegal behavior especially by powerful people (such as government officials or police officers) : depravity
b
: inducement to wrong by improper or unlawful means (such as bribery)
the corruption of government officials
c
: a departure from the original or from what is pure or correct
the corruption of a text
the corruption of computer files
d
: decay, decomposition
the corruption of a carcass
2
chiefly dialectal
: pus
3
archaic
: an agency or influence that corrupts
Examples of corruption in a Sentence
There are rumors of widespread corruption in the city government.
the mafia's corruption of public officials
corruption of the English language
computer software that is supposed to prevent the corruption of files
the corruption of a text
Recent Examples on the Web
Check if the customer database can be fully restored within a 24-hour recovery time after simulated data corruption.
—
Allbusiness, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
Democrats had controlled the White House from 1933 until 1952, when Republican Dwight Eisenhower, a World War II leader who promised to end the Korean War and to uproot corruption in Washington, beat their lackluster presidential candidate, Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson.
—Time, 23 July 2025
In his nightly video address Tuesday, Zelenskyy justified the move by saying corruption cases took too long to be investigated under the agencies.
—Joanna Kakissis, NPR, 23 July 2025
Fighting rampant government corruption was Zelensky’s main campaign pledge ahead of the 2019 election.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for corruption
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Allbusiness, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
Democrats had controlled the White House from 1933 until 1952, when Republican Dwight Eisenhower, a World War II leader who promised to end the Korean War and to uproot corruption in Washington, beat their lackluster presidential candidate, Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson.
—Time, 23 July 2025
In his nightly video address Tuesday, Zelenskyy justified the move by saying corruption cases took too long to be investigated under the agencies.
—Joanna Kakissis, NPR, 23 July 2025
Fighting rampant government corruption was Zelensky’s main campaign pledge ahead of the 2019 election.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for corruption
Cite this Entry
“Corruption.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/corruption. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
corruption
noun
cor·rup·tion
kə-ˈrəp-shən
1
: physical decay or rotting
2
: dishonest or evil behavior
3
: the causing of someone else to do wrong (as by bribery)
4
: a change from the original or for the worse
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