corporation
noun
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Definition of corporation
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Synonyms for corporation
Synonyms
bay window, beer belly, belly, gut, paunch, pot, potbelly
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Examples of corporation in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Beijing has been clear on their growing intolerance to the protests, and pressure is now extending to Hong Kong’s multinational corporations and its diplomatic corps. — Shibani Mahtani, Washington Post, "Hong Kong leader urges protesters to ‘sit down and talk’," 24 Aug. 2019 Erin returns home to discover that the locals don’t appreciate their precious Mt. Holly Inn being bought out by a big corporation. — Dan Snierson, EW.com, "Here's when all 28 new Lifetime Christmas movies will air," 22 Aug. 2019 But for the longest time, the whole project was maintained by two overworked programmers with a few unpaid volunteers helping out—even though the code was being used, for free, by a host of large corporations and governments. — Zeynep Tufekci, WIRED, "Altruism Still Fuels the Web. Businesses Love to Exploit It," 20 Aug. 2019 In 2009, the Kolkata municipal corporation and the cultural department of the Russian Federation consulate in Kolkata erected a plaque in Ezra Street, Kolkata, to commemorate the site of the pioneering theatre Lebedev had opened there in 1795. — Karen Stapley, Quartz India, "Over 200 years ago, a Russian musician became a pioneer of Bengali theatre," 15 Aug. 2019 The city is home to seven Fortune Global 500 companies, and operates as an Asian base for many multinational corporations and major banks who prize its semi-autonomous legal system and close ties to mainland China. — Michelle Toh, CNN, "These global businesses are feeling the heat from Hong Kong's protests," 9 Aug. 2019 What if there’s a financial crisis because of all of the extraordinary corruption in the banking system and in the state corporations and the lack of accountability there and so on? — Eric Johnson, Vox, "The wrong US response to Russia and China may trigger a “new Cold War,” warns Stanford University’s Larry Diamond," 7 Aug. 2019 For small corporations and pass through entities (LLCs, S-corps etc.), the capital stack is as simple as owners’ common stock/membership interests and senior debt from their local bank. — Gary Miller, The Denver Post, "Gary Miller: Know what capital structure is and how to use it to grow your business," 7 Aug. 2019 Though giving to federal candidates is limited, the 5-4 opinion allows corporations and unions to pump unlimited money into races as long as the spending isn’t closely coordinated with a campaign. — oregonlive.com, "The ACLU helped Oregon stay awash in campaign cash. It’s having second thoughts," 7 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'corporation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for corporation
corporation
nounFinancial Definition of corporation
What It Is
A corporation is one of many ways to formally organize a business. Structuring a business as a corporation has a number of important legal requirements and consequences that impact investors.
How It Works
A corporation is also sometimes referred to as a "C Corp." The "C" refers to the section of the IRS code that governs corporate taxes. Corporations have several distinguishing characteristics:
1. A corporation is owned by shareholders, and their ownership is represented by shares of stock.
2. A corporation has a board of directors, which is a group of people elected by the shareholders to oversee the corporation's management. The board of directors is elected to make decisions that are in the best interest of the shareholders.
3. A corporation has an unlimited life; that is, corporations don't die or expire unless a) the shareholders decide to intentionally dissolve the corporation or b) a corporation is unable to pay its debts and is forced into bankruptcy.
4. Shareholders have limited liability. That is, the liabilities of the corporation do not extend to the shareholders. If the corporation goes bankrupt or defaults on a loan, lenders cannot repossess shareholders' personal assets or try to force shareholders to repay the company's debts.
5. Corporations pay taxes on their income, even if they distribute some of that income directly to the shareholders via dividend payments. This leads to the controversial "double taxation."
6. Corporations are legal entities that exist separate and apart from their shareholders. In fact, they are usually afforded the legal rights of an individual person. That is, they can own assets, borrow money and sue or be sued.
Why It Matters
It's important to understand the characteristics of corporations because if you have money in the stock market, you are a shareholder and part owner of the corporations whose stock you own.
Corporations are the most popular form of business structure in the U.S. because of the limited liability protection. If the corporation can't pay back its loans, your shares will lose value (perhaps 100% of their value), but you as a shareholder are not responsible for paying back the debts. A shareholder cannot lose more than 100% of his or her investment.
If the corporation makes a profit, your shares in that company will become more valuable because as a shareholder, you're entitled to your portion of the net income. In fact, one of the main goals of a corporation's employees is to maximize shareholder value; that is, to work on behalf of the owners in order to enrich them as much as possible.
The corporate structure is not appropriate for every business. Corporations are highly governed, regulated and taxed when compared to other business forms (sole proprietorships or partnerships). This makes them more expensive to operate and conduct business. One of the largest complaints about the corporate structure is that profits are taxed twice: the corporation must pay income taxes and shareholders must pay income taxes on that same income if they receive a dividend payout (double taxation).
Source: Investing Answers
corporation
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English Language Learners Definition of corporation
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Kids Definition of corporation
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