corn
B1neutral
Definition
Meaning
a tall cereal plant that yields large grains (kernels) set in rows on a cob; the seeds of this plant used as food
1. The main cereal crop of a region (e.g., 'wheat' in UK, 'maize' in US). 2. A small, hard particle or area of thickened skin on the foot. 3. (archaic/literary) Something corny, trite, or overly sentimental.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The meaning is heavily dependent on geographical context. In American English, it unambiguously refers to maize. In British English, it can be a mass noun for cereal grains generally, though 'sweetcorn' specifies maize. The 'foot' meaning is homographic but etymologically distinct.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
In BrE, 'corn' is a generic term for the chief cereal crop of a region (e.g., wheat, barley). In AmE, 'corn' exclusively means maize (Zea mays). BrE uses 'maize' or 'sweetcorn' for the vegetable.
Connotations
AmE: agricultural, staple food, summer. BrE (generic): archaic/poetic for grain; (as maize) seen as a specific vegetable. Both: 'corn on the cob' is understood.
Frequency
Very high frequency in AmE due to its role as a major crop. Lower frequency in BrE as a generic term, but common for 'sweetcorn'.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
grow cornharvest cornplant corneat cornshuck cornVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “corn-fed”
- “acknowledge the corn (AmE, archaic: admit the truth)”
- “tread on someone's corns (BrE: offend)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Commodity trading (e.g., 'Corn futures fell after the USDA report').
Academic
In botany/agriculture (e.g., 'The domestication of corn occurred in Mesoamerica').
Everyday
Food and cooking (e.g., 'We're having corn with dinner').
Technical
In food science (e.g., 'High-fructose corn syrup is a common sweetener').
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The farmer will corn his harvest for winter feed.
- Her shoes corned her heel painfully.
American English
- We need to corn the beef to preserve it.
- His new boots corned his little toe.
adjective
British English
- The corn exchange was busy.
- He had a corn plaster on his toe.
American English
- The corn belt stretches across the Midwest.
- The joke was too corn-fed for my taste.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- I like corn with my chicken.
- The corn is yellow.
- We bought some sweetcorn from the market.
- Farmers grow a lot of corn in this region.
- The price of corn is affected by global demand and weather patterns.
- She got a painful corn from wearing tight shoes.
- The subsidy programme disproportionately benefited large-scale corn producers.
- His writing was dismissed as mere corn by the literary critics.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
A CORNerstone of American agriculture is maize, which they call CORN.
Conceptual Metaphor
ABUNDANCE IS CORN (e.g., 'a land of plenty, flowing with milk and corn').
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Do not translate as 'corn' for 'grain' (зерно). Use 'wheat' (пшеница), 'barley' (ячмень) etc. For maize, use 'кукуруза'. The foot 'corn' is 'мозоль'.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'corn' generically in AmE context (use 'grain'). Using 'corn' for maize in formal BrE (prefer 'maize' or 'sweetcorn').
Practice
Quiz
What does 'corn' primarily refer to in British English?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Usually uncountable when referring to the crop or food ('a field of corn', 'eat some corn'). It can be countable when referring to individual grains or types ('a corn of wheat' is archaic; 'corns on the foot').
In modern usage: 'Corn' is the common AmE term for maize. 'Maize' is the botanical term and preferred BrE term for the plant. 'Sweetcorn' is a variety of maize with sweet kernels, eaten as a vegetable.
When English settlers arrived in America, they used the generic word 'corn' (meaning grain) for the new staple crop, maize. In Britain, 'corn' retained its older, generic meaning longer, though it is now receding.
Yes, but it's rare. It can mean 1) to preserve meat in brine (corned beef), or 2) to form a corn (hardened skin) on the foot.