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corporal

noun · adjective

Simple meaning

A non-commissioned officer army rank with NATO code OR-4.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

kawrperuhl

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈkɔɹpɚəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. military

    A non-commissioned officer army rank with NATO code OR-4. The rank below a sergeant but above a lance corporal and private.

  2. A non-commissioned officer rank in the police force, below a sergeant but above a private or patrolman.

adjective

  1. Of or pertaining to the body, especially the human body; bodily.

  2. zoology

    Pertaining to the body (the thorax and abdomen), as distinguished from the head, limbs and wings, etc.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Uncommon
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A non-commissioned officer army rank with NATO code OR-4. The rank below a sergeant but above a lance corporal and private.

Used this way, corporal is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a military use: it belongs to service and operational language.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Specialist/technical
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Specialized
Connotation
Clinical and technical
Usage feel
Technical and specialized

Where it naturally appears

  • Military
  • Historical writing
  • News/reporting
  • Technical/specialist writing

Usage note

In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

corporal punishmentlance corporalcorporal johncorporal trimcorporal worksinflict corporalcorporal chastisement

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • corporationnounDerived noun · specialist

    A business firm whose articles of incorporation have been approved in some state.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • corporal punishmentnounCompound term

    The infliction of physical injury on someone convicted of committing a crime.

  • lance corporalnounCompound term

    An enlisted man in the marine corps ranking above a private first class and below a corporal.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: of or pertaining to the body

corporealphysicalincarnate

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.