corral
/kɔ'rɑ:l/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- A pen or enclosure for livestock, especially cattle or horses: A fenced area, often circular, used to confine and manage animals.
- A defensive circle of wagons: A historical arrangement of wagons drawn into a circle for protection, as used by pioneers.
Verb:
- To drive into and confine in a corral: To gather livestock into such an enclosure.
- To gather, collect, or assemble people or things, often with effort: To bring together and secure something, typically in a controlled manner.
- To form wagons into a defensive circle: To arrange wagons to create a protective enclosure.
Examples
Noun:
- The cowboys drove the herd into the wooden corral for branding.
- At night, the settlers formed their wagons into a corral for safety.
Verb:
- We need to corral the horses before the storm hits.
- The manager tried to corral the team for a quick meeting.
- She managed to corral enough support to pass the new policy.
Advanced Usage
- "to corral something" (figurative): To gain control over something abstract or difficult to manage.
- The project leader's main job was to corral the various ideas into a single plan.
- "to be corralled": To be gathered or confined, often implying a lack of freedom.
- After the event, the reporters were corralled into a press area.
Variants and Related Words
- Corralling (gerund/noun): The act of gathering or confining.
- The corralling of the cattle took all morning.
- Corraled/Corralled (past tense/participle): Both spellings are acceptable, with "corralled" being more common.
Synonyms
- Noun: Pen, enclosure, compound, pound, kraal (South African).
- Verb: Round up, herd, pen in, enclose, gather, collect, marshal, muster.
Related Phrases
- "corral the vote": To actively gather and secure votes, especially in a political context.
- The candidate spent the final week trying to corral the vote in key districts.
- "corral resources": To assemble and organize available assets or materials.
- The community corralled resources to help the family after the fire.
Verb
- collect or gather
- corralling votes for an election
- arrange wagons so that they form a corral
- enclose in a corral
- corral the horses