The meaning of CORRUPT is to change from good to bad in morals, manners, or actions; also : bribe.

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Don’t let your friends corrupt you (= have a bad moral influence on you). If information in a computer is corrupted, it is damaged and can …

Someone who is corrupt behaves in a way that is morally wrong, especially by doing dishonest or illegal things in return for money or power. ...to save the nation from corrupt politicians of both …

CORRUPT meaning: 1 : to cause (someone or something) to become dishonest, immoral, etc.; 2 : to change (something) so that it is less pure or valuable

1. lacking in integrity; open to or involving bribery or other dishonest practices: a corrupt official; corrupt practices in an election.

Corrupt, dishonest, venal apply to one, esp. in public office, who acts on mercenary motives, without regard to honor, right, or justice. A corrupt politician is one originally honest who has …

Nov 5, 2025 · From Middle English corrupten, derived from Latin corruptus, past participle of corrumpō (“to destroy, ruin, injure, spoil, corrupt, bribe”), from com- (“together”) + rumpō (“to …

Corrupt generally refers to being dishonest, unethical, or fraudulent, often involving bribery or other forms of illicit gain. It can also mean to change, damage, or ruin something from its …

Something corrupt is rotten, spoiled, or out of commission, like a file that makes your computer crash. A corrupt person — a criminal, a crook, or a cookie thief — brings society down with …

To destroy or subvert the honesty or integrity of, as by offering bribes. To cause to become rotten; spoil. To make or become corrupt. To render impure; contaminate.